fallingforyou
by goshangie
Summary: Rick and Michonne have been friends for years but now it's getting harder to deny their feelings for each other. Will they be able to be honest with themselves and each other or will they continue to get in the way of their own happiness? A little Dasha. COMPLETE. Slow burn. A/U, no zombies.
1. Babyface

**A/N: Hey everyone, so this fic is based off of the song fallingforyou by the 1975. I recently went to one of their concerts, I don't listen to them much but I went cause my sister wanted to go and I heard this song and immediately thought of Richonne. I intend for this to be a slow burn. Enjoy and please review!**

Chapter 1: Baby Face

Rick was single...again. His 1 year long relationship with Jessie was at first exciting and new but quickly became bland and boring and Rick quickly stopped looking forward to seeing her. He had just broken up with her at her home and had driven back to his own home, now he was about to enter his home.

Inside he heard the high pitch screams of laughter coming from his youngest daughter and then a deeper laugh coming from his son. He opened the door and smiled, "Y'all sure are rowdy." He said, as a woman stepped into view and smiled. She had dark skin, large and dark almond eyes, full brown lips and locs that fell down to the middle of the back but for today were up in a bun. She wore a pair of dark blue skinny jeans and a loose v-neck orange blouse that stood out against her skin tone. Her black sandals sat near the door.

"Judy was playing hide and seek with Aunt Michonne, who is a surprisingly bad hider." Said Carl, his oldest child. Carl was 16 and was a spitting image of his father with his blue eyes and similar tone the only difference was his long hair that often covered his eyes.

"Hey!" said Michonne who smiled widely. "I was trying to give you guys a chance to find me, now if I was playing for real the both of you would still be looking for me." She said, as she then scooped Judith into her arms and walked over to Rick placing her in his arms. Judith was Rick's youngest at 6 years old and she smiled widely and held her arms out as she got closer to her father. "Daddy!" She squealed in a high pitch voice.

"Hey baby girl." He said, smiling brightly at her. "You had fun with Auntie?" She nodded and nuzzled her head in her neck. Rick walked over to Carl and patted his head, lightly kissing the top of it. Carl scrunched his face at his father's kiss and sighed, "Okay this my cue to go upstairs bye now." He said as he moved towards the stairs he stopped before going up and turned towards Michonne. "Are you staying for dinner?" He asked, hopefully. Carl and his Aunt Michonne had a great relationship and were incredibly close, often telling her things before he told his father.

"Not tonight, I'm gonna go see Mike but I'll come up to say bye. I promise." She said, smilingly as Judith began to wiggle out of her father's arm noticing that Carl was going upstairs and she wanted to go as well. "Can I go with Carl?" She asked, looking up at her father. "Come on Judy." Carl said, smiling as he held out his hand for his sister as the both went upstairs.

"So…." started Michonne. She and Rick were best friends and knew each other for years and therefore have both seen the other in relationships. Michonne knew he was going to see Jessie today and he had intended to break up with her. "How'd she take it?" She asked, as she walked over to the living room and then sat on the couch, patting the sat next to her indicating for Rick to come sit.

Rick sighed as he walked over to the couch, plopping down on the seat next to her. "She cried….a lot. It was uh...awkward to say the least. I just...I don't know I can't get into the swing of things with this relationship stuff since the divorce, you know?" Rick was divorced from his ex-wife, Lori a few months after having Judith. He had discovered that she had cheated on him with his friend, Shane and it was something that neither of them could get past. Even before their divorce and the affair their relationship was on the rocks. They often argued and he found himself constantly telling Michonne about their arguments and even spending the night on her couch a few nights. Even though it was quickly becoming 6 years since the divorce, dating was still something Rick didn't find easy.

Michonne nodded and gave him a small reassuring smile. "You'll get there, you were married for a long time, gotta learn how to date again. I know I make it look easy but trust me it's not." She said, widely with a grin on her face. Rick laughed lightly, "You do make it look easy. Got any tips for the old man?" "Yeah clean up that scruff you got going on and maybe then you'll get some ladies, instead of everyone thinking you're a grandpa." She chuckled lightly, as she reached over and gently touched his rapidly growing beard with her thumb.

Rick felt a leap inside of him as she touched his beard. There had always been an attraction towards her from the moment they met. But he never initiated anything with her. First, he was married when they met and Michonne was the single one. Then he was divorced and she was in the one in a 4 year relationship. Her ex moved fast, for Michonne's standards at least, and pushed for marriage and therefore pushed Michonne away. They broke up after his second failed proposal to her. Then Rick had started dating Jessie and now that he was single again Michonne had recently started seeing someone, Mike, for 3 months. They had never managed to be single and ready at the same time and Rick wasn't sure if she had even felt the same way for him. He kept his feelings at bay as their friendship got closer but every now and again they bubbled up to the surface. Her touch was one the ways, to do just that, to remind him of his feelings for her.

"Now don't you think grandpa is a bit of stretch?" He asked, smirking at her. "Nope." She said, in a matter of fact way smilingly widely. "You're just saying that cause you like them baby faced boys. Mike looks like a kid." "Oh please," she said as she playfully rolled her eyes. "You guys are the same age, the difference is he doesn't want to look 60 when his 42."

Rick laughed lightly deciding to change the topic off his beard, "How's it going between you two?" Michonne shrugged, and moved her hand around to indicate, "so-so." "I mean, it's going...I like him but at this point I don't see me bringing him home to meet the parents or to meet you people" She said, indicating him by pointing at him with her chin.

The last man Michonne had dated she introduced him to Rick and their friends around the 7 month mark. Simply put, they didn't like him. They were all an overprotective bunch, with Rick leading that pack, and it was rare for any of them to bring someone into the group that was well received. She knew that if her boyfriend could handle them then they could move on to meeting her family and she knew that she wasn't at that point with Mike.

Rick looked at her pretending to be shocked with his eyes wide and mouth open, " _You_ people? I don't want you're talking about 'Chonne." Michonne laughed lightly, "Yeah whatever you say Grimes." She said, as she jokingly rolled her eyes. She looked down at her watch, being unaware of the time as she sat and talked to her best friend. She lightly sighed and gave him a small smile as she got up. "Time for me to go Grimes, don't want to be late for my date with baby face." Rick, lightly smiled as he also got up. "Yeah don't want to keep him up past his bedtime," he said with a grin. Michonne laughed lightly, "Oh shut up," she said as she brushed past him her shoulder, touching his arm. "I'm going to say bye to your kids. Feed them well tonight, put some vegetables on those plates." She said as she moved up the stairs. "Yeah, yeah," said Rick, with a smile as he watched her go all the way up the stairs and then turned left to say goodbye to Judith and Carl, now no longer in his view.

He let out a breath when he was out of her sight, and looked down smiling to himself. There it was again, that feeling that happened whenever they touched. "Bye Grimes," said Michonne as she came back down the stairs after a few minutes breaking his daze. She picked up her purse that was sitting on the coffee table and walked towards the door, Rick a few steps behind her. "Have fun tonight," he said, as he opened the door and leaned back against it so they were both standing in his entrance way. "I'll try, I'll tell you about it later, okay?" He nodded, and she leaned in putting one hand on his waist and giving him a light kiss on the cheek, something that she did with all of her close friends. "Talk to you in a bit Grimes." She said, as she walked out and towards her car that was parked in front of his home. Before she entered her car she looked back at him and smiled lightly waving with her four fingers and then entered her car, driving away after a few seconds.

"Fuck." Rick said to himself as he watched her car drive away. He could still feel her lips lingering on his cheek, her hand at his waist. _Don't look into it, she says goodbye to everyone like that_ he thought to himself but he couldn't help it. He was painfully aware of how deep his feelings ran for her. He knew he would be thinking about their touch for the rest of the night like he often did. "Dad, what's for dinner? We're hungry!" yelled Carl from upstairs, shaking his Dad out of his thoughts. "Give me 15 minutes I'll whip something up." He yelled back again, still leaning against his door. He let out a light sigh, and finally moved away from the door, closing it behind him.

00000000000000000000000000

 **A Few Hours Later**

It was now quiet in the Grimes household, Rick had just finished bathing Judith and put her to bed and he noticed the light peeking out from underneath Carl's door was now gone after reading his last comic for the night. Rick flopped into bed, wearing only his pajama pants. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed, lightly rubbing his beard with one. He bit down on his lip and paused for a moment still touching his beard.

After a minute or two he quickly got up and walked over to his bathroom, flicking on the light. He grabbed his electric razor and plugged it, the low buzz of it now filling the small room. He looked up at himself and eyed his beard, he gave himself a small nod and began to shave it off.


	2. Art

Chapter 2: Art

Michonne stepped into her house, she wanted to change her shoes and put on some lipstick before her date with Mike even though she was running about 10 minutes late. She met Mike through her colleague, who was a friend of a friend of Mike's. Their first dates had went well enough but she moved slowly him like she did in every relationship. Painfully slow for most men who couldn't be bothered to wait till they had sex. Mike wasn't as pushy as her most recent ex and seem to be more understanding, at least for now. There was an attraction towards Mike, a slight spark when he smiled at her or he wrapped his arms around her but nothing that truly excited her….like with Rick. Even the smallest touches between them made her heart race and she made sure to not make him aware of her feelings whenever they touched, becoming hyper aware of her expressions. She was unsure if Rick was ready to be in a relationship or even if he felt the same way towards her. Even though she didn't feel the same spark with Mike she thought, maybe I could get there with him, even if it would take some time.

Michonne pulled her hair out of her bun and shook her head to allow her locs to fall loosely around her face. She slipped on black velvet heels that were peep toe and had a kitten heel on them. She applied a deep red lipstick on her lips and rubbed them together. She glanced herself over in the mirror and grabbed her purse, stepping out of her house again.

000000000000

 **A few moments later**

"Hey, hey sorry I'm late." Michonne breathed out as she walked into the restaurant, lightly kissing Mike on the lips. He looked down at his watch and frowned slightly, "Why were you late tonight Michonne?" He asked, a bit of a tone in his voice. Michonne sighed as she grabbed the menu in front of her and began to look at the options. Granted, this wasn't the first time Michonne had been late to a date of theirs. She tried her best to be on time but she never seemed to be on time to see him, _maybe he's just not that important_ she thought to herself but quickly shook that idea off, not wanting to admit it.

"I'm sorry," she said as she looked up and reached over the table and lightly touched his hand with hers. "I went to go watch Rick's kids for a couple hours and then he got back and we started talking, I lost track of time." She gave him a small smile and went back to looking at her menu. Even though Mike had yet to meet her friends he knew of them as she talked about them often, with Rick and his kids topping that list.

"Were you late to meet him too?" Asked Mike, still a bit irritated. Michonne sighed and looked up at again pausing as the waiter came over asking her what she would like to drink. "Can I have a glass of Merlot please, thank you." She said, as the waiter nodded and then walked away. "Can we not do this? I want to eat and drink and smile and enjoy the date, is that okay? I won't be late again, I promise." She said, with a small smile. She leaned over the table and gave him a light kiss on the lips. Mike returned her small smile and nodded, deciding to leave this conversation for later. "Now," said Michonne, "how was your day?" She asked, smiling as the waiter returned with her wine, taking a sip of it.

00000000000000000

 **A few hours later**

Michonne laughed lightly, it was now midnight and she was driving home with Mike in the seat next to her. Mike had loosened up once the conversation about her lateness had ended and after dinner they had gone to see an art exhibit on African art at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. She enjoyed her time with him, despite the lack of spark, and was now driving back to his place. "Look, it's not my fault you don't get art." She said, with a smile.

"I get art! It's just...not...all art." Said Mike, also smilingly. "Yeah, sure." She said, as she playfully rolled her eyes and slowly came to a stop, stopping in front of his home. Michonne took off her seatbelt and leaned over to him, "This is you," she said softly, giving him a smile. "This is me," said Mike just as softly. He took off his seatbelt as well and leaned over, giving her a deep kiss on the lips. He pulled away for a moment and smiled sheepishly, "...Wanna come inside?" Michonne smiled but pulled away from him. "Not tonight." She said gently, as if not to hurt him yet firmly so he knew there would be no convincing her otherwise. Mike nodded, slightly embarrassed, he looked down and then back up at her pausing for a bit wondering if he should bring up the subject he had decided to put on the back burner. He bit his lip and decided to go for it, "...Can I ask you something?" He asked and then continued once Michonne gave him a nod. "...Did you and Rick...ever date?" Michonne's face quickly contorted into confusion, her eyebrows pushing together and her eyes wide. "Look, its okay if you guys did I just wanna know what I'll be walking into if I ever get to meet the guy."

Michonne was shocked, to say the least. When she had denied to spend the night at a man's house usually the first question was "why" and she already had her lists of answers prepared but this was not a question she was prepared for. It took her a moment to fully understand what was being asked and that Mike was serious in his question. "No!" She said firmly. "Why would you...Rick and I are just friends. We've never dated or….done anything else." Mike nodded and breathed out a sigh of relief, "Okay...it's just...you talk about him _a lot_ and his kids as well. I was just wondering. You talk about him more then you talk about any of your other friends." "He was my first friend here in Atlanta! He's my closest friend here of course I'm gonna talk about him! And I love his kids like they were my own….Why are you doing this? I thought we had a good night." She said, sighing as she folded her arms over her chest. "Hey…" said Mike, as he reached over and put a hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry. I just…" he sighed, "It was stupid I'm sorry." He paused, waiting for her to say something but she stayed silent, looking straight ahead. Mike sighed again and looked down, the air was quickly becoming tense in the car and he knew that now Michonne wasn't about to start talking again. He gave her light kiss on the cheek and pulled away, "I'm sorry….Call me tomorrow, okay? Or...whenever you wanna talk…" he paused again but she once again stayed silent. "Goodnight." Mike quickly stepped out of the car and walked towards his door, disappearing in his home once he was inside.

Michonne let out a deep sigh once he was inside and turned her car back on to drive home. _Do I really talk about Rick that much?_ _He's my friend...my best friend. When I moved to Atlanta he was the first person I talked to. He's seen me at my best and at my worst and so have I for him._ She sighed as she thought to herself. _If he has only heard me speak of Rick what would he think when he saw us together? Would he be jealous? Think that I was lying about our relationship? We're friends….Just friends... Even if I told Rick how I felt about him what would that do to us? He doesn't want to be with me and even if he did he isn't ready for a relationship. You heard him, he can't get into a swing of thangs with this relationship stuff._ She chuckled lightly outwardly as she mimicked his accent in her head and smiled as she thought of it. _His accent is cute...his smile is cute...his eyes...the way he walks...how he says 'Chonne._ She bit down on her lip as she pulled into her driveway. "Jesus, Grimes...you're killing me." She mumbled to herself, sighing afterwards as she exited her car and walked towards her home.

00000000000000

 **The Next Day**

"I was late...again…" said Michonne, as she walked in the aisles with her friend Sasha in a party store. Sasha was of a medium complexion, with a large afro that was now pulled into a low bun. She was pushing a cart filled with party supplies in front of her for her upcoming husband's birthday, Daryl Dixon. Sasha had recruited Michonne in picking out party supplies for the upcoming party and now they were discussing Michonne's date with Mike the night before.

"'Chonne the next time you're late that boy is not gonna be waiting up for you." She said, as she picked up several black, gold, and silver center pieces and put them in her cart. Michonne nodded and sighed, "I know. But it's not like I wasn't doing anything, I was watching Carl and Judith for Rick, did Daryl tell you he went to go break up with Jessie?" As she grabbed some black and white streamers and put it in the cart. Sasha nodded, "Mhm, he told me alright. She was...okay I guess," she shrugged as she said this. Daryl and Rick were incredibly close and being married to Daryl consisted of knowing many things about Rick. "But I wanna hear more about your date so continue." She waved as if to push the conversation along. "Okay so I was late. I told him that I was at Rick's house watching the kids, then he says 'oh, did you get to Rick's house late?' Sasha paused and turned to her friend, her eyebrow raised and eyes wide. "Yeah," said Michonne agreeing with her look "Anyway, I told him that I didn't want to talk about that on our date and he let it go and we were fine we ate, laugh, we went to that exhibit I was telling you about...and then…" she said with a sigh.

"And then?!" Said Sasha her mouth dropping open. "Girl we choose a great day to go shopping this is one juicy date you went on." Michonne chuckled lightly and rolled her eyes, "Do you want to know what happened or what?" "Come on, tell me!" Sasha said, lightly pushing Michonne. "Alright, alright calm down." Michonne said shaking her head smilingly. "Okay so we were in the car, I dropped him off at home, and he ask me to come in-" "Oh my god do you sleep with him?!" Sasha asked, excitedly. Michonne sighed and threw side eyes at her friend. "No, I did not sleep with him Sasha, geez. Anyways I told him I wasn't coming in and then….he asked me if Rick and I had ever dated."

Sasha had stopped moving and turned slowly to face Michonne her eyes wide. When Sasha was first introduced to the group by Daryl she had told Michonne that for the first two weeks of seeing them interact she had thought her and Rick were dating but she had never heard anyone else in their group comment on the idea that their relationship seemed more than platonic so hearing that Mike, someone who hasn't even seen Rick and Michonne interact thought they had dated had surprised her and at the same time made her want to blurt out, "I told you so!" even though she held back and instead she said, "Really?" Now leaning against her cart and smirking slightly.

Michonne sighed and nodded, knowing that Sasha wanted to say I told you so and had done so just fine by giving her this look. "Yes. Really. He said I talked about Rick a lot...More then I talk about you guys. Anyways, I told him that we hadn't dated and that Rick and I were just close friends _just_ like I told you when you thought we were dating. He ended up apologizing and saying goodnight but I didn't say anything back. We haven't talked yet."

Sasha gave her friend a small nod her bottom lip sticking out as she did so, "Interesting." She simply said as she began walking again. Michonne looked at her questioningly, "What do you mean interesting?" Sasha shrugged, "I thought you two were dating….Mike thought y'all were dating...its...interesting. Maybeee...it's a sign." Michonne frowned, "A sign for what Sasha? That I should date Rick? Haha, yeah right." Sasha sighed, they were now making their way towards the cash register with a cart packed with party items. "Look, we aren't going to go _back_ to that conversation again," recounting the numerous conversations she had attempting to convince Michonne of her true feelings about Rick unaware that Michonne was so aware of how she felt about Rick that it was almost painful, "I'm just saying maybe...there is something that you just aren't aware of that...you should become aware of." She said, shrugging.

Michonne sighed and rolled her eyes as she began to push their cart out of the store and towards Sasha car, regretting that she hadn't also brought her own so she could leave this conversation here. She grabbed bags as she began to put the party supplies in the back of Sasha's trunk. "Okay, so are we done with this topic? How prepared are you for the party?" Sasha shook her head at her friend's insistence of changing the topic but she decided to not push the topic anymore. "I think we have everything," she said as they both entered the car, "we have the bar booked, a dj, food is set, just gotta decorate I guess. Wear black or white, no exceptions. You know I love you but I'm going for a theme here alright? You know he doesn't want a party right? But c'mon when was the last time we partied?"

Michonne smiled at her friend, Daryl was not the partying type but Sasha was, if she could she would party every time there was even a slight momentous occasion. "Yes I got it Sasha, black or white I hear you loud and clear," she said playfully rolling her eyes, "I think it's been a couple months since our last one, what was that Judith's birthday? That was fun." She said smiling at the memory. "Yeah it was, but this one is no babies allowed," Said Sasha wagging her finger, "There is gonna be lots of alcohol involved and I plan on getting _you_ nice and drunk." She said with a grin. Michonne laughed lightly, "you can try but it's not gonna happen."


	3. Alone

Chapter 3: Alone

 **A/N: I just wanted to say thank you to the many followers/faves of this story and the reviews! I do have an end point for this story so I hope you all enjoy. This chapter takes place in the past to show how much their relationship has grown. Also this helps give a clear picture as to why Michonne moves so slowly in her relationships. The following chapter will be the party. Also shout out to whoareyouandwhyshouldicare on tumblr for the cover art! Enjoy and continue to leave your comments!**

 **8 years ago**

"Fuck!" Michonne shouted out in anger as her many papers fell on the ground after running into a man, who was clearly not paying attention. It was Michonne's first day at her new law firm and she was already running at least 10 mins late and this interruption was not helping her.

"Let me help, I'm sorry." Said Rick as he bent down to help this unknown woman pick up her many papers. Rick had been talking on the phone with Lori and had become unaware of his surroundings until he ran straight into Michonne.

"Yeah, no thanks you've done enough." Said Michonne, clearly annoyed as she put her hand up to signify that he could stop. She could hear this man sigh as he got up and she rolled her eyes _why is he the one sighing? I'm the one running late and he's the one who ran into me_ she thought as she picked up the rest of her papers finally getting up.

"Look, I was just trying to help I said sorry." Rick could tell she was in a rush and clearly flustered but he didn't appreciate her tone with him. Michonne signed and adjusted the bottom of her skirt, pulling it down as it had risen a bit in picking up her papers. "If I had the time to stand here and argue with you trust me I would but right now I don't. And I don't care about your sorry." She said rather abruptly as she began to quickly walk off not trying to be any later than she already was.

Rick sighed and shook his head, clearly this woman wasn't a pleasant person but at least she didn't have the time for an argument. He watched her as she quickly walked away his eyes moving down her as she walked away. _An angry woman with a nice ass, what a shame_ he thought as he turned away once he was out of her view. He opened up his phone again, calling his wife back "hey, sorry I ran into a woman...no I physically ran into her…" He said, as he began to walk away his voice trailing off.

0000000000

 **A few hours later**

Michonne had survived her first day at her new job. It was hectic to say the least and her lateness did not help her in having a positive first impression on her new boss but she managed well enough and promised herself that she would be at least 10 minutes early tomorrow. But for now she needed a drink and walked into the town's local, and what seemed like, only bar.

"Jesus Christ, how fucking small is this town?" Blurted out Michonne rather abruptly as she opened the door to the bar and found the same man who she had ran into sitting at one of the stools. He looked up at the sound of the familiar voice with the same amount of annoyance from earlier and smirked, "you must be new here."

Michonne sighed and rolled her eyes as she sat about two bar stools away from Rick. Her locs were now down instead of the bun they were in earlier in the day and she now wore flats instead of the heels that she quickly learned were not comfortable. "Am I going to have to see you every day? Is this gonna be a thing cause I don't think it's gonna work out."

Rick chuckled lightly, he was on his 1st drink at the bar and even though this woman clearly had a chip on her shoulder he greatly preferred this environment than the one he had to come home to. "Now it wouldn't be too bad running into each other, would it?" "Uh, yeah it would be actually. Late to my first day on the job because _someone_ doesn't know how to talk and walk and that _someone_ seems to be everywhere I am." "...Where's the new job?" Asked Rick bypassing by her other comments, the alcohol lightened his mood and at this point he was getting a bit of joy out of her annoyed demeanor.

Michonne glanced at him a look of confusion on her face, _is he really trying to start up a conversation with me? He must be drunk already._ "Bartender, a gin and tonic please. Don't go light on the gin." She said, pointing a finger at him as the bartender nodded and prepared her drink. "I'm a lawyer" she answered, taking a sip of her drink once the bartender put it in front of her.

Rick nodded, _of course she's a lawyer with that attitude._ "Well we may be seeing each other more often then, I'm this town's sheriff, the name's Rick." He said as he leaned over to reach out his hand. Michonne turned to him her mouth slightly open, "fuck, I gotta get the hell out of this town," she said before reaching out her hand and shaking his. "It's Michonne."

Rick chuckled lightly at her comment, dropping her hand after a few seconds. There was an initial small spark when they touched but he ignored it, blaming it on the alcohol. "So today was your first day on the job, huh? How'd it go?" He asked as he then finished his first drink, shaking the empty glass at the bartender indicating he wanted another one.

"Well I didn't get fired so there's that." She said shrugging as she sipped on her drink, she could feel the stress of the day lifting off of her. "What are you drinking?" _I bet….he is a whiskey man. Definitely. Looked neat._ She thought to herself before he could answer.

"Whiskey. Neat." Rick replied as he the bartender refilled his glass. He heard Michonne chuckle lightly, his first time seeing her smile, and even though it was small it was still bright and seemed to fill the dimly lit bar. "What?" He asked, "I knew it." She said, looking up at him giving him a small smile. "Really, you think you can read me that well?" "Well it is what I do for a living so yeah," Michonne replied also requesting for a refill on her drink in a similar fashion to Rick.

"You ain't the only person who can read people, let me see…" Rick turned to her so he was fully facing her so he can also take a guess about her. "Well, I already know you're drink but what else…" He took her in for a moment, briefly looking her up and down "I'm gonna guess you're from a big city."

Michonne smirked and turn in his direction, "Well no duh. Geez is that the best you got? I hope you're better at this when it comes to criminals." Rick laughed lightly, "who said I was done, huh? Alright you're from a big city which is...Los Angeles. No." He said, quickly taking it back as she opened her mouth to speak. "It's...New York. You're from New York City." "Is that your final answer?" Rick nodded, "just tell me if I'm right or not." Michonne chuckled lightly, "yeah, yeah you're right I'm from New York," she said waving him off.

"Now it's my turn." She said as she moved closer to him now only one stool separating them. "Why are you here Rick?" She moved her eyes down him and spotted a wedding ring, "let me guess. Whoever you were talking to on the phone when you ran into me was your wife and...There was an argument or something like that and so now you're here drinking your whiskey. Neat." She said, smirking as she took a sip of her drink.

Rick let out a small smile, _she's good_ he thought. "Yeah, I guess that's close enough anyone could have guessed that but you know that was good." He said with a shrug. Michonne laughed lightly, "oh shut up." "My turn," said Rick, "You….grew tired of the big city life...and grew tired of the people so you closed your eyes and choose the first city your finger landed on and now you're here." "Yeahh...it must suck not being as good at reading people as you thought," she said smiling widely at his wrong guess as to why she had moved to Kings County.

Rick laughed lightly, "Alright so tell me then why are you here?" Michonne took a long sip of her drink, finishing it off and taking a minute to answer him. Michonne was not one to open up to people, especially now with what happened in New York and especially not to people she just met. "Sometimes...you just need a change of scenery." She said, with a small smile. She got up from the stool and looked down at her watch, "Well I have to go, thanks for the talk. I still don't like you." She said pointing a finger at him and squinting at him playfully. Rick laughed lightly, "Yeah whatever, you have a card or something? We might need to get in contact for work at some point." Michonne nodded, digging her hand in her purse as she pulled out her card, handing it to him. "And you?" "Naw, I don't have mine on me. But if you need me call the station and ask for Grimes." Michonne nodded, "Grimes. I will. Cabs still running in this town at this time?" "Yeah, should be a couple waiting outside. See you around?" "Um, with the size of this town and my luck you'll probably be my next door neighbor." She said, she turned around and gave him a smile and a small wave before exiting the bar. Rick chuckled lightly as he watched her leave, for the second time today, "Yeah….probably" he muttered to himself with a small smile on his face as he played with her card for a few seconds before putting it in his pocket. He turned around and waved for the bartender, "Another please. Thanks."

000000000000000

 **1 and ½ years later**

Michonne sat on her couch, it was around 10 at night and her lights were dim as she read _To Kill a Mockingbird_ for the 3rd time. She had her locs pulled high up into a ponytail and she was wearing an oversize shirt and pajama shorts her usual nighttime wear especially in Georgia where it was hot year round. She was abruptly shook from her book as she heard a loud knock on her door. She looked to see who it was from the couch and squinted seeing what looked like a male figure standing by the door and the knocking continued, now more insistent. She sighed and set her book on her coffee table in front of her and went to see who it was. She looked through the peephole and saw who it was, Rick, and he looked terrible. She quickly unlocked the door and opened the door, "What's wrong?" She asked, taking in his condition.

Rick's eyes were bloodshot and his dark circles were deeper than usual, his clothes were messy and his hair disheveled like he had gotten dressed in a haste. "We're done." He said, his voice raspy as if he had just been yelling for hours. His eyes jumped to everything but Michonne as he tried to control his tears from welling up again. She knew right away that he was talking about Lori, their arguments had gotten worse and their relationship had quickly gone down the drain after the reveal of her affair. It had gotten to the point that Rick found himself on her couch on quite a few nights. "Oh Rick." Michonne said softly, gently pulling him into her home by his hand, closing the door behind him and leading him towards her couch. She gently rubbed his hand with her thumb once they were seated, "What happened?" "...We...I just can't anymore," he said, biting down on his lip now trying to physically stop his tears, "I tried...I tried to move on from...Fuck." Tears were now coming out, slowly at first and then faster and faster as he was unable to control them. "Rick," said Michonne softly, now pulling him into her chest her arms tight around him, "its okay. You're gonna be okay." Rick's arm wrapped around Michonne, tight, as if letting go would cause him to fall apart. He breathed deep and slow breaths after a few moments as he began to calm down. He looked up at Michonne, tears still coming out but now at much slower pace. "How am I...supposed to come back from _this_?" "You will. You're strong. You have us. Carl. Little Judith. You're gonna be okay, Grimes." "I….I feel alone." Said Rick, his voice barely above a whisper at this point. "You're not," said Michonne as if it was a fact, she was now gently stroking Rick's cheek with her thumb and they were close to each other, just a few inches separating them and it felt like his blue eyes were drilling holes into her. "Wanna know why I came to Kings County?" She asked, after a moment of silence. Rick gave her a small nod, a bit relieved that she was giving him a temporary distraction from his pain.

She gave him a small smile and started her story, "I was with someone too. For a really long time. Almost 10 years. We met when I was 18 and I fell in love with him hard and fast. I thought he was the best thing that happened to me. And we were _really_ good and then it was like the light was switched off and we weren't." She said softly, Rick looked at her intently showing her that he was listening. "It was like you and Lori. We argued. Every day. About the stupidest of things. And every day I woke and up thought, maybe today will be better. Maybe today we will be happy. And then every night I went to bed and thought...yeah, not today. It got bad. I think he hated me at the end and I hated him. But we were comfortable in our anger and we we're scared to let go and start all over with someone new... At least I was. One day he walked in after work and he said, 'I don't love you anymore. I can't do this,' and I remember sobbing every day after that. I sobbed when he told me, I sobbed as I moved my stuff out of our home, I sobbed when I saw him with someone else a few months after breaking my heart. I think it was the most intense pain I've ever felt. I was suffocating underneath it all and so...I closed my eyes and picked the first place that my finger landed on on the map," she gave him a small smile as she recounted his assumption at the bar the day they met. "I was right?" Asked Rick his voice still raspy as he gave her a slight smile in return also remembering that night in the bar. Michonne nodded, "you were right Grimes," she said as she pulled back from him now resting her head on her couch. "Anyways, the point of that story is that you're not alone physically and you're not alone in your pain either. I didn't have kids with him. We weren't married but _my god_ I thought he was the sun. But he wasn't. And neither is Lori. You'll be okay. It'll take some time but I'm here, whenever you need me."

Rick nodded at her words his eyes were still glazed over but his tears had stopped, "Thank you 'Chonne." "You're welcome...you need a place to lay your head?" Rick nodded giving her a small smile. "If you don't mine." Michonne smiled, and stood up from the couch. "Now Grimes you know if I minded you would have knew already." She said, with a smirk as she walked towards her closet near the door that had extra pillows and blankets. "Yeah...I know." Rick said, softly, mostly to himself. Michonne walked over to him and handed him some pillows and a blanket. "Get some rest Grimes and don't leave until I've made you some breakfast, okay?" she said, smilingly softly as he nodded and she walked towards her staircase to her own bedroom. Rick turned to her as she was halfway up the stairs, "Goodnight 'Chonne." She paused and looked back at him, "Goodnight Rick," she said before continuing up the stairs again and disappearing into her room.


	4. Cake

Chapter 4: Cake

Rick was dressed in a black dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up, black slacks, and black dress shoes as per the dress code for Daryl's birthday party. Their local bar, which was a place him and his friends had visited frequently, was rented out for the night and it was decked out in decorations that were black, silver and gold with many of them saying 40 in bold letters and exclamation marks. There was one wall that had a line of food against it and another with a dj against it who was playing some soft background music as there were only a few guests at the party so far. "She really went out all didn't she?" asked Rick, leaning up against a free wall by the entrance with his friend Daryl who was dressed in a similar fashion. Daryl let out a slight chuckle, "Yeah, no shit. You know that woman can't take no for answer."

Rick chuckled lightly at his friends comments, "She loves a party." "If she could throw a party when we wake up in the morin' she would." Rick laughed at his friend, despite his outward reaction to his wife's love of parties he knew that if Sasha wasn't throwing this party Daryl would have been upset. "Where's your lady anyway? Ain't we gonna be starting soon?" "She's in the back getting ready, she was here all day doing this. I think Maggie and 'Chonne were here too so they're probably in the back with her." Rick involuntarily sucked in his breathe in hearing that Michonne was already here. Daryl glanced at him, hearing him do so and smirked "Calm down boy, don't get too excited." Daryl was aware of Rick's attraction to Michonne but was unaware of how deep his feelings ran. Rick rolled his eyes at Daryl's comment, "I don't know what you're talking about." "Yeah and I'm the fuckin' Queen of England." "Alright, that's my cue to get a drink." Daryl laughed lightly as his friend began to walk away, "What I'd say?" Rick smirked, shaking his head and raising his middle finger as he continued to walk towards the bar, he heard his friend laughing behind him.

Rick leaned against the bar, resting his forearms against the bar counter. "Hey, can I get a-" "Whiskey. Neat." He smiled widely as he recognized the voice and turned around, attempting to keep his mouth from falling open as he saw her. Michonne was smiling widely at him, her locs were pulled back into a low bun with a few of them falling around her face with a bit of a curl and there were a few silver rhinestones decorating her bun. She had a bit of gold eyeshadow on along with her favorite red lipstick. She wore a white off the shoulder, short sleeve, calf length dress it had small half circle cut outs that showed a bit of side cleavage. The dress was form fitting and she wore it with a pair of white patent leather heels.

"Wow, look at you!" She exclaimed. "Who's the baby face now, huh?" She said, grinning as she walked over to him leaning over and kissing him on the cheek. "What do you think of this place, huh? I think we did a pretty good job." She asked, as she looked around the bar taking in the work done by herself, Sasha and Maggie. "Yeah...beautiful." Said, Rick he was still enthralled with Michonne and his comments were more so about her then the bar. She smiled at his words and requested a gin and tonic from the bartender when he placed Rick's whiskey in front of him.

Somewhat out of his daze once she moved her attention to the bartender, Rick took a large swig of his drink. _I'm gonna need a few of those to get through tonight_ he thought to himself. Michonne turned to him after taking a sip of her drink and placed one hand on her hip. "So, who would've thought Grimes would be taking _my_ advice. I never thought I would see the day." Rick laughed easily and playfully rolled his eyes, "Whatever, I didn't do it to appease you." "Whatever helps you sleep at night." She said, shrugging and smiling widely. Rick paused for a moment and looked her up and down she seemed _extra_ happy tonight. "You've been drinking without me 'Chonne?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her. Michonne chuckled, "I may have had a drink...or two," she said with a smile "when we were getting everything ready for tonight, we decided to start the party a little early. Is that okay with you Grimes?" She asked, lightly poking him on the arm. Rick laughed, "As long as I'm not taking you home tonight." "Oh please, I do not need nor want the Rick Grimes taxi company."

"'Chonne! Stop talking to Rick and gimme my kiss already!" Called Tara, one of their friends. Michonne laughed and turned to the voice and put a hand on Rick's shoulder with her other hand holding her drink, "Time to catch up Grimes." She said with a smile, shaking her glass at him as she walked over to Tara giving her a tight hug and kiss on the cheek. Rick watched her as she walked away, his eyes landing on the way the dress hugged her ass. "Jesus" he muttered to be himself. "Say again?" asked Daryl as he strolled up to his friend with Glenn on his side, a slight smirk on his face. "You guys know the girls already started drinking?" asked Glenn, "Bartender, let's get some shots going for the birthday boy." Rick shook his head lightly, relieved that Glenn had unknowingly changed the topic before Daryl had begun his interrogation.

00000000000000000000000

 **2 hours later**

People were scattered around the bar as it filled up, some were by the food, others by the bar, and some dancing as the dj had turned up the music significantly. Rick, Daryl, and Glenn were sat at one of many round tables with empty glasses around them.

"I'm serious! It was everywhere! I didn't know such a small person can poop so much!" Exclaimed Glenn as he explained the most recent debacle that was changing his 6 month old daughter's diaper. Rick and Daryl were laughing loudly at the story and had to slow down their breathing just to get out a sentence.

"Shit like that is why I ain't having no babies anytime soon," said Daryl. "Literally shit just like that," said Rick grinning widely. "Literally!" Said Daryl repeating after his friend as he took a gulp of his beer. Glenn laughed at his friends and shook his head, "The shit is just a part of the process man. Right rick? How many poop explosions did you have to deal with?" Rick laughed, he looked to the ceiling, recounting the memories of changing diapers, "Let's just say this won't be your last one. Prepare yourself my friend." "I'm gonna have poop filled nightmares." Glenn said as he sighed and shook his head, taking a gulp of his drink, his friends chuckling at him.

After a brief pause, Daryl smiled as he pointed his beer towards the women on the dance floor, "Look at 'em." The women were in a large circle and were belting out "Say My Name" by Destiny's Child in unison. "Say my name, say my name. When no one is around you, Say baby I love you. If you ain't runnin' game." They sang out, the men chuckling as they did so. As the song finished Sasha walked over to them, her afro was braided to imitate a crown around her head and she wore a black silk dress with thin straps, the dress fell down onto the floor with a slit up to her knee. "I hate to pull you away from the boys but we want cake. So come on." She said with her hand stretched out to her husband. Daryl chuckled and pushed out his seat, grabbing her hand, "Alright, let's go get 'em some cake."

The music slowly came to an end as people began to clink their glasses. Daryl and Sasha were upfront, standing next to a two tiered cake that mimicked the colors that were in the room as well as big bold letters that said 40. Their friends surrounded them in a semi-circle. Rick and Michonne were towards the back and she had her head leaning against his shoulder. Rick gave her a small smile as he looked down at her as Sasha began to speak. "First of all, thank you all for coming to Daryl's birthday party that means a lot to us. Daryl…" she turned her head to him and smiled lovingly, "I'm not going to go into this big spiel because I know you don't like the attention. But. I love you, I love you." She said, repeating the second I love you softer than the first. "Happy birthday," she smiled and leaned into him kissing him on the lips as people cheered and whistled at their kiss. She pulled away and giggled lightly against his lips, "You wanna say something?" "Uh, thanks for coming. Drink a lot. Eat some cake. Have fun. I love you girl." He said, giving her a light kiss on the shoulder as the crowd cheered again. "Y'all ready for some cake?" He asked the crowd as Sasha began cutting slices and handing them out.

Rick stopped before walking up to his friends and getting cake at hearing a small sniffle. Michonne was looking down and was rubbing her eyes. "Are you crying? What's wrong?" He asked, a concerned look on his face as he tilted his head trying to get a better look at her. Michonne shook her head and smiled softly as she looked up at him her eyes a bit glazed over, "Nothing! Just a little bit too much to drink is all...You want some cake? I want cake. I'm gonna go get some cake" She said quickly not waiting for his response as she walked away.

He watched her walk away his brow still furrowed in confusion. He felt someone nudge his shoulder and looked seeing that it was Glenn. "Hey man, you might wanna get some cake before it's gone, this is great. Where'd you think they got it from? Or did Sasha bake it? Does Sasha know how to bake? I don't know man all I know is this is goddddd." Glenn said as he quickly eat his piece of cake, he looked up at his friend and nudged him again. "Hey, you okay man? Look, I'm sure the cake won't go _that_ fast." Rick let out a small smile making a mental note to discuss what just happened once Michonne was sober again. "Yeahhh, I'm fine. Let me go get some cake." He said, walking away.

0000000000000000000

 **2 hours later**

The party began to wind down as the bar emptied out and the dj was now playing slow jams with only a few close friends still lingering. Rick sat at one of the round tables watching the few people on the dance floor.

"This is the last song of the night folks, so grab someone and enjoy." Said the dj on his mic as "(At your best) You are love" by The Isley Brothers began to play.

"Grimes," said Michonne as she walked over to Rick who had now switched out her white heels to white flip flops as many as the women still left had done. "Come dance." She said her hand out for him.

Rick smiled but shook his head no, "you know I ain't a dancer 'Chonne." Michonne put her hand to her chest and her eyes grew wide, faking surprised "oh, you thought I was asking you! Haha no. I was telling you. Now come." She said with a smirk her hand still out to him.

Rick chuckled lightly as he pushed his chair out and walked over to her, taking hold of her hand. He knew that she wouldn't take no for an answer but he also knew he would enjoy her warmth against him.

 _There are times when I find_

 _You wanna keep yourself from me_

 _When I don't have the strength; I'm just a mirror of what I see_

 _But at your best you are love_

 _You're a positive motivating force within my life_

 _If you ever feel the need to wonder why_

 _Let me know, let me know_

Rick and Michonne made it to the dance floor and she wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling softly up at him as she laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes and he wrapped his arms around her waist and they began to sway slowly to the music. He felt his heart beating rapidly and thought, _calm down she's gonna hear it, it's just a dance, calm down._ But it seemed like this logic had failed him.

 _But if you feel, girl, like I feel_

 _Confusion can give way to doubt_

 _For there are times when I fall short of what I say,_

 _What I say I'm all about, all about_

 _But at your best you are love_

 _You're a positive motivating force within my life_

 _Should you ever feel the need to wonder why_

 _Let me know, let me know_

Rick looked down at Michonne she seemed so calm as she laid her head on him the only reassurance that she wasn't sleeping was that she was still swaying with him. _Who told the damn dj to play this song?_ He thought, it seemed like the words were mimicking his feelings for her. He breathed in deeply and let the breathe out as he attempted to relax. _She's fine so you need to be fine too,_ he thought. He leaned down and nuzzled his head into the crook of her neck and it was if this space on her were made for him. His nose was pressed into her and his nose filled with the soft coconut vanilla scent she usually had on. It felt as though time was slowing down as they danced like this and with both of their eyes closed, like no one else was in the room.

 _Tell me what it is (Tell me what it is)_

 _There's no need to make believe_

 _(Make believe, no need to make believe)_

 _Look beyond your world (Look beyond your world)_

 _Try and find a place for me (Try and find, find a place for me)_

 _Cause at your best you are love_

 _You're a positive motivating force within my life_

 _And if you ever feel the need to wonder why_

 _Let me know, let me know_

They slowed as the song came to end and paused for a moment, Rick's head still resting in her neck and her head still resting on his chest. Michonne pulled her head up and opened her eyes causing Rick to do the same and he smiled softly at her. Her hands began to play with his hair at the nape of his neck. "Thanks for the dance Grimes." She said softly. "Anything for you 'Chonne." She smiled, her hands still playing with his hair as they heard a car beep outside.

"I think that's my cab." She said as she pulled away from Rick, him letting her go unwillingly. "Okay…" Said Rick his eyes jumped down to her lips and then back up to her eyes, giving her a small nod as he did so. "Imma go say bye to everyone," she said as she began to turn and walk away from him. Before she can get far he lightly grabbed her wrist pausing before he spoke.

"Michonne…" He bit down on his lip and sighed a bit. "...let me know when you get home." She smiled brightly at his concern for her and she took a few steps back so she was directly in front of him again and kissed him gently on the cheek. She seemed to have linger but maybe, Rick thought, he was just looking into it. "I will. Goodnight Grimes." She said softly as she began to walk away, they heard the beep of a car horn again and she quickly made her goodbyes picking up her shoes from behind the bar as she left. She waved lightly at the remaining crowd and walked out.

Rick watched her as she did so and smiled at her wave. It seemed like she was looking straight at him as she waved, as if it was meant just for him. But maybe, he was just looking into it.

 **A/N: I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Thank you once again for the follows/favorites/reviews. As far as the next two chapters I have a general idea of what I want to happen but I wanted to know if you guys have any things you feel should be answered in the upcoming chapters? Put it in your reviews or PM me! Rick and Mike will be meeting soon, no worries. Chapter 6 will be from Michonnes perspective and chapter 7 from Rick's. Thanks for reading! :)**


	5. Alive

Chapter 5 - Alive

 **The day after the party**

It was about 10 in the morning and Michonne's phone was ringing for what felt like forever. "Oh my god…." she muttered to herself. She could feel her head banging and she was still in her dress from last night and now her phone wouldn't stop ringing. She reached for her phone with her eyes still closed, slightly opening her eyes to answer it. "My god, what is it?" She asked.

"So you are alive!" Said Sasha on the other end, cheerfully. While Sasha was the one who always threw parties she was rarely the one to get hangovers as she was often too busy making sure everyone else was having a good time and getting their fill of the alcohol.

"Oh my god Sasha, why are you doing this to me?" Asked Michonne her hand now covering her forehead with her thumb and index finger massaging her temple.

Sasha laughed a bit at her friend, "Look, Maggie and I are gonna come over and make some breakfast and soothe your hangover alright? We have some things to talk about…"

"Like…? Things that can't wait till tomorrow? How do you never manage to have a hangover?" Asked Michonne.

"Likeeee, you. And Rick. That little dance last night. You don't think we noticed? We have things to discuss! Now I know you are still in that dress so go change and shower and we will be over in about, 30 minutes or so." It was custom for a drunk Michonne to often go to sleep in whatever she was wearing that night, her makeup still on so Sasha knew she was right in her guess.

Michonne sighed, she wasn't aware that people were watching her and Rick dance but she should have expected nothing less especially from Sasha. "Is there no talking you out of this?"

"Now, you should know me better than that 'Chonne. See you in a bit!"

Michonne let out a groan as she hung up with Sasha. She forced herself to open her eyes and sit up, her headache seeming to grow as soon as she opened her eyes. She paused for a moment before getting up, remembering the memory of her dance with Rick last night. She smiled to herself as she began to get up to go to her bathroom. _It was a good night_ she thought, as she entered her bathroom and turned the shower on.

0000000000000000000

 **45 minutes later**

After a long shower that seemed to shake off a bit of her hangover Michonne had changed out of her dress from last night into a soft pink, short sleeve maxi dress her feet bare and hair up in a messy bun as she walked around her home. She was in the living room, cleaning a bit, when she heard her doorbell ring. She walked over and answered the door giving her friends a small smile.

"Look at you! Getting all dressed! We weren't sure what you had here so we brought things." Said Sasha with Maggie on her side as they both raised the grocery bags they held.

"Hey 'Chonne" said Maggie, smiling as she and Sasha entered Michonne's home, walking towards the kitchen as they already knew the way.

"How are our boys?" Michonne asked, referring to Glenn and Daryl as they began to take food out of the grocery bags.

"Glenn spent all night drunkenly tellin' me all about the struggles of baby poop. I don't know how happy he was that I was comin' over here today." Said Maggie as she playfully rolled her eyes.

"I told Daryl to go over there and help him out," Sasha paused and then continued, "...I think I might be pregnant." She said with a smile.

"What?!" Said Michonne and Maggie in unison both in shock from the news.

"What do you mean you _think_ you're pregnant? You haven't taken a test yet?" Asked Michonne.

Sasha shook her head, "No, not yet I was thinking of taking one tonight. It's just this past week I've felt...different and I'm late so I think I am."

"...Wait, so what were drinking last night?" Asked Maggie, they had decided to pick up the ingredients for a quiche at the supermarket so now she was in the process of preparing it.

Sasha shrugged, "Just some ginger ale."

"Oh my god!" Exclaimed Michonne, "no wonder you had the nerve to call me this morning, you weren't even close to being hungover." She was now also in the process of helping Maggie.

"Not my fault you wanted to drink all night," said Sasha with an innocent shrug.

Michonne shared a look with Maggie that read, _really?_ With their lips pursed and eyes sliding over to Sasha.

"Anyways!" Said Sasha as she felt their gazes on her, wanting to change the topic, "how was the party for you, hm Michonne?" She asked as she rested her elbows on the counter, and rested her chin in the palms of hands.

Michonne sighed, _here we go_ she thought. "It was fine Sasha." While Michonne was close to both Sasha and Maggie she wasn't going to be outright with her feelings with Rick to them before he even knew. And she wasn't sure when or if that would happen.

"Really? Just fine...Interesting. Maggie, did you happen to see Rick and Michonne dancing at the end of the night?" Asked Sasha, glancing at Maggie and then back at Michonne with a smirk.

"I may have…" Answered Maggie as she then noticed Michonne glaring at her, "or….maybe I didn't." She said with a shrug.

Michonne rolled her eyes, "so we were dancing and? Everyone danced with everyone last night." She said attempting to justify her close dancing with Rick.

"Actually everyone _did not_ dance with everyone. Rick Grimes did not dance with everyone he danced with _you_." Said Sasha as she pointed at Michonne.

"And?" Asked Michonne.

Sasha sighed, throwing her head in her hands clearly a bit exasperated with the situation. She looked up and looked Michonne dead in the eyes, "Michonne...do you want to fuck Rick?"

"It's Sunday!" Exclaimed Maggie her mouth falling open.

"Oh my god…." muttered Michonne. This was not what she was expecting this day to become. But Sasha's observation made her wonder how obvious it was of her feelings towards Rick. _If it's so obvious to her is it so obvious to Rick too?_ she thought.

"Look, if you say no I'll drop it I swear. We won't ever talk about you and Rick Grimes fuc-" Sasha stopped, catching a glare from Maggie, "I mean….having sex...ever again."

Michonne sighed, her thoughts were screaming out _yes_ but her face remained stoic. "No," she said simply. She didn't want to elaborate more, fearing that something would would slip out.

Sasha squinted at Michonne for a moment, not quite believing her, but Michonne's face remained the same. "Okay, that settles it." She said with a shrug, "...How's it going with Mike?"

Michonne let out a small sigh, relieved that the conversation has moved on to another topic that did not deal with her and Rick sleeping together. But this topic wasn't much better than the first.

"We haven't talked since the night of our argument….I guess I should call him right? I think he's waiting for me to make first contact." Said Michonne.

"Y'all should talk," said Maggie with a small smile. "You know you be scaring those boys away so he isn't gonna call you first."

Michonne chuckled at her friend her mouth falling open,"I do not scare boys away!"

Sasha nodded in agreement with Maggie, "you kinda do. I don't know if Mike can handle it, one argument and he hasn't called yet. Come on!" She said with a roll of her eyes.

Michonne laughed at her friends, "His….he just has to get use to me is all. I'll call him tonight."

"Good, now…" Said Sasha, "is the food done yet?"

Maggie smiled and nodded as she pulled the quiche out of the oven. "Yes, yes it's ready calm down." She said, with a smile.

00000000000000000000

 **Several hours later**

Michonne's house was now quiet as Sasha and Maggie left for the evening. They spent most of the day talking girl talk, discussing possible baby names, and wondering how Daryl would be as a dad. While Michonne loved her friends and her hangover was long gone she was happy to have her house to herself again. And now that she was alone she was able to be with her thoughts.

 _Maybe I should call…._ she thought to herself with a sigh as she unlocked her phone and scrolled through her contacts before stopping at Mike's name. Her thumb lingered for a moment and then she pressed his name, putting the phone to her ear as it rang.

"Hey….I was starting to think you were never gonna call." Said Mike, on the other line.

Michonne smiled a bit at the sound of his voice, "You know you could've called to, right?"

"I wanted to give you some time….are you okay?"

"Yeahhh, I'm okay. Are you?"

"Better now that we're talking...What you do last night?"

Michonne smiled a bit, remembering last night. "Partied a little, drank a little. Had some cake. It was a good night."

Mike smiled at her recollection of the night before, "Wish I could have been there…" there was a pause, "Look I wanna ask you something."

"The last time you wanted to ask me something we stopped talking." Quipped Michonne, reminding him of how their last argument started with a simple question.

Mike let out a nervous chuckle, "Yeah, I know….I just think it's time for me to meet him."

"Him?...Who is him?" Asked Michonne, even though a part of her knew the answer before Mike could say anything.

"Rick." Said Mike, he could hear a sigh coming out of Michonne and he imagined she was probably rolling her eyes. "I know, but listen for a sec. You've met my friends and I've only heard about yours. If you want me to wait to meet everyone else in your life, that's fine but Rick seems to be the closest to you so I wanna meet him. I'm….I'm not sure I'm comfortable continuing with us if I don't meet him."

Michonne chewed on her bottom lip as she thought of a response. Since she was slow moving in her relationships for her knowing someone for 3 months was too soon to meet her friends. But she also thought that if she didn't bend at least a bit on her rules that her short relationship with Mike would be over. She was unsure of how long this relationship would last but she figured she could at least try.

"...You still there?" Asked Mike after Michonne was silent for what felt like too long.

"Yeah, I'm here….When do you want to meet him?" Asked Michonne.

"When are you free?"

"Tomorrow after work? Around 7 if that's good for you."

"Yeah that works...Thanks Michonne. I know this isn't something you usually do so early but it could be good for us, you know?"

 _Nope_ , thought Michonne. Apparently her feelings for Rick were painfully visible and she was sure that Mike would be just another person who noticed.

"Yeah...it will be." Said Michonne hoping Mike wouldn't hear the lie in her voice. "So, I'll see you then?"

"I'll see you then…. Night 'Chonne." Michonne can hear a lightness in his voice that wasn't there in the beginning of the conversation, this same lightness she was trying to convey.

"Goodnight Mike" she said softly, hanging up the phone afterwards. "...Damnit," she said to herself. She grabbed her phone again and typed up a quick text message to Rick _hey, what are you doing tomorrow night?_


	6. Light

Chapter 6 - Light

 **Monday night at 7**

Rick was already at their local bar, wanting for Michonne and Mike...unfortunately Mike. He had gotten a text from Michonne last night and couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed when the conversation quickly turned to be about Mike. While he had no aspirations to meet Mike anytime soon Michonne had asked him to so he obliged. Now he was sitting at the bar, tapping his corona bottle with his middle finger.

Michonne was running late as she made her way to the bar, she felt as though she had more work than usual today _or maybe you were going slower than usual_ she thought to herself. She sighed, knowing that her second thought was more true than the first. She finally got to the bar, swinging the door open. She didn't have time to change out of her work attire so she was still in her royal blue blazer, black blouse, and royal blue cigarette pant along with her black stiletto heels. She let out a breathe of relief as she saw Rick sitting at the bar and no Mike in sight as of yet. "Hey…" She said with a smile as she walked over to him, lightly touching his shoulder leaning in to give him a kiss on the cheek.

Rick smiled widely at her, her kiss instantly making him feel warm inside. "Hey 'Chonne, how ya feeling?" He took her in once she pulled away, even her work clothes she was still beautiful.

Michonne smiled a bit, Rick knew as soon as she had told him about this plan that this was not her idea and she had some nervousness about it. "I'm...okay. My palms are sweaty, isn't that weird? I don't know why I'm so nervous."

Rick let out a small chuckle, her nervousness was cute. "Maybe you should have a drink?" He suggested to her.

Michonne shook her head no, "yeah and be drunk by the time he gets here? No thanks Grimes." She said with a small smile.

Rick smiled back at her and paused for a moment. They had yet to talk about the moment she had at Daryl's birthday party and he wondered if he should bring it up now. "...Speaking of drunk...were you okay the other night?" He asked a look of concern on with his head tilted towards her.

Michonne's brow furrowed at his question, her eyes now no longer on him but on the door. "What do you mean?" She asked, still looking at the door. She was aware of where he was going with this conversation but had no plans on discussing it, especially tonight.

"'Chonne…" said Rick gently, "You were-"

"He's here." Interrupted Michonne as she saw Mike enter the bar. "I'll be right back," she said to Rick. She walked over to Mike and softly smiled giving him a light kiss on the lips.

Rick watched their interaction, squinting slightly. He couldn't hear what they were saying but still felt a surge of jealousy in him. He wondered what they were talking about and noticed how Mike looked at Michonne, he looked at her like she was his which annoyed Rick more then it should.

Michonne lightly held Mike's hand, "you ready?" She asked him.

"Are you?" Mike responded, smiling gently at her as he gently stroked her hand with his thumb. Michonne smiled and nodded a bit, gently pulling him over to where Rick was seated.

"Rick this is Mike. Mike this is Rick." She said, smiling a bit as she dropped Mike's hand in order for the two men to shake hands.

"Mike." Said Rick with a short nod as they shook hands. He looked him up and down as they shook hands, sizing him up _yeah she can do better_ he thought.

There was an awkward pause and Michonne glanced at Rick and then back at Mike. "Sooo….how was everyone's night?" She asked, smilingly nervously.

Rick chuckled lightly, her nervousness showing again. "It was good…" As he spoke he looked directly at Michonne as if Mike wasn't there with them.

Michonne smiled gently at Rick, her eyes staying on him for a moment before responding. His presence calmed her a bit. "Good…," she looked back at Mike pausing for a bit. He was eyeing them oddly, but she brushed the look off. "Um, Mike," she turned to him, "he works in law too in one of the big offices in Atlanta." She said with a small smile.

"The office isn't that big but yeah I mostly work for big companies." Said Mike, he wrapped his arm around Michonne's waist in an almost possessive way.

Rick's eyes dropped at to Mike's hand, a slight smirk on his face. "So you work for the criminals?" Asked Rick, pointing his beer at Mike and then taking a gulp.

Michonne's eyes widen at Rick's statement _here we go,_ she thought her eyes shifting between Rick and Mike.

Mike let out a slight chuckle and sighed, "Look man I'm just trying to get a paycheck just like you." He could feel Michonne pulling away from him as the tension began to rise between him and Rick.

"Trying to make a living and bending over to any asshole with a check are two different things, don't you think?" Asked Rick with a tilt of his head as his lip slightly twitched.

"What are you trying to get at?" There was a bit of anger lingering in Mike's voice as he spoke.

Rick tapped his finger against his beer his annoyance rising. "I'm saying, you bend over. For anyone with a check. You let them pull down their pants and fuc-"

"Okay!" Said Michonne interrupting Rick and squeezing in between him and Mike who were now very close. "Um, Rick! Let's go talk somewhere, okay? Come on." She said gently pulling him by his hand.

"You're going with him?" Asked Mike his anger now pointed towards Michonne. "You're going with him?" He repeated now with more of a tone.

Rick raised an eyebrow at Mike, it was one thing to argue with him but a totally different one to argue with Michonne. He stepped forward stopping once he felt Michonne's hand on his chest.

She sighed and looked Mike directly in the eye, "I'll be right back. Calm down. Please." She said, speaking as if she was speaking to a child who was acting up. She turned back to Rick and pulled him away from Mike to the other side of the bar. Once they were far enough she sighed and let go off his hand and looked at him. "Are you guys done?" She asked, putting her hands on her hip.

Rick looked at her for a moment and sighed, now he was beginning to feel just a bit bad for his treatment to Mike. "Yeah I'm done….I'm sorry."

Michonne paused for a moment, "Why don't you like him?" She asked.

Rick sighed as he glanced over to Mike who was glaring at them and then focused back on Michonne. "There's just….something about the man that I don't like….You can do better." He looked Michonne up and down, "Do you like him?"

"I….I think there might be something missing with us. I don't know. Maybe it just takes a while for some people?" She wondered.

"Naw...you know they're the one the moment you see him...I don't know much about Mike but I know that much."

Michonne smiled softly giving him a small nod, she felt herself warm at his words. "Thank you…" She said softly. "Now can you stay over here while I go talk to him?"

Rick smirked and nodded, "I can."

Michonne smiled softly and walked away from Rick and back to Mike who still clearly upset.

"What the hell was that?" He asked, bitterly.

Michonne pushed her brows together, he seemed extra angry more so at her then at Rick. "I was talking to my friend and calming him down before a bar fight started, is that okay?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Why? Why does _my_ girlfriend go talk to her friend first instead of the man she's supposedly in a relationship with?"

Michonne rolled her eyes and leaned against the bar. She was tired and didn't want to be bothered with this argument anymore. "Exactly Rick is my friend. I've known him longer then you and I know how he can get so I calmed him down before I can get to you."

"Yeah I'm starting to think he's more than that…" Muttered Mike.

Michonne huffed, "stop talking under your breath and just say what you have to say Mike I'm tired."

"Why do you look at him like you want to fuck him Michonne?" He asked.

Michonne's eyes widen, twice in one week she had been accused of looking as though she wanted to sleep with Rick. She stayed silent, her words escaping her.

Mike slightly nodded, taking her silence as an answer, "yeah...this," he said waving his hand in between them, "this is the problem Michonne. Your silence. This...this thing you have with Rick whatever the fuck it is, will always be in the way of us. And the way you talk about him, the way you look at him I know that I will never be first here."

Michonne sighed as she listened to her words, while Mike's words should have hurt her and made her fight for their relationship they didn't, because she knew he was right. "...Are we breaking up Mike?" She asked already knowing the answer.

"Yeah...yeah I think I'm done here." He paused before walking away from her, "it's not just you, he looks at you the same way." He gave her a light kiss on the cheek for a goodbye and left.

 _He looks at me the same way?_ She asked herself replaying Mike's words in her head before she was interrupted by Rick walking up to her.

"Y'all okay?" He asked her.

Michonne smiled a bit, "uh well...I'm single again so there's that." She said with a small shrug.

Rick bit down on his lip, feeling a bit guilty. "Was it...was it me?" He asked.

Michonne smiled at his concern and gently cupped his face with her hand, "no, it wasn't you Rick," she said softly "it's like I said something was just...missing with us." She leaned in and gently kissed him on the cheek, lingering for a moment. "I gotta go, have to wake up early tomorrow. You need a ride home?"

Rick felt his stomach do backflips at her touch and smiled lightly, "I'll take a cab...You sure you're okay?"

Michonne gave him a small smile and nodded, "yeah, I'm good Grimes. Let me know when you get home, okay?"

Rick nodded, "yeah, you do the same."

Michonne nodded as she began to walk towards the door, "I will Grimes." She gave him a small wave and a smile and exited the bar for the night. Feeling exceptionally lighter then when she entered.

 **A/N: Two chapter update since these are both fairly short! Michonne is single, Rick is single, what will happen? As always thank you for the reviews/follows/favorites! I will be going on vacation next week but hopefully I can have another chapter up before then as I won't have my laptop with me. Now I'm gonna respond to some reviews :)**

 **Lavender73: You're guess wasn't too far off! Michonne wouldn't have introduced Mike to Rick now if she didn't feel like she had to in order to repair her relationship with Mike. So much for that!**

 **TheOtherPen: Thanks for your compliments! In my head Lori is a few states away from the kids so they spend summers with her, school hasn't ended yet so they are still in Kings County!**

 **Gdyoung59: Can I just say your reviews are so freaking funny, I appreciate them a lot. Please don't stop reviewing!**

 **Selfyshhhluv** **: Thank you! I wasn't too sure about how others would view my interpretation of Glenn so I appreciate it. Now Michonne is single so who knows maybe a kiss will be coming soon….**

 **PoeticJustus: Glad you liked the song choice! I was gonna go with something else originally but really felt this song was best for them. Thanks for liking the baby poop talk hahaha. Also I have read a good amount of fanfic so I don't blame you for liking them more then the show!**

 **Guest (1) & Guest (2): Thank you both! Glad yall are enjoying :)**


	7. Broken

Chapter 7: Broken

 **1 week later**

Michonne was over at Rick's house. Today she was off from work and was watching Carl and Judith for Rick since he had to work late today. It was now early evening and Michonne was preparing some macaroni and cheese for the kids. Judith was in the living room watching an episode of _Scooby Doo_ and Carl sat in the kitchen, with his homework spread out on the dinner table.

Carl breathed out a sigh of relief as he finally closed his math textbook. "Done!"

Michonne chuckled lightly at his excitement, "Bring it over to me." She said, as she stirred her cheese sauce. Carl brought the textbook over to her and she peered over at his work. "Number 3 and 18."

Carl sighed, "Can't we just leave those as they are?" Michonne shot him a look that read _yeah right_ and Carl sighed again going back to the dinner table to fix his answers. After a few minutes he went back to her showing his new answers and she smiled.

"Good job, kid. You're done."

Carl smiled widely and slammed his book shut, "thank god! When is dinner gonna be done?"

"Carl, this isn't any box macaroni and cheese like your father makes this is baked and it takes time." Said Michonne as she put her food in the oven to bake.

Carl groaned at her words as he sat back down, "I'm starving Michonne!"

Michonne laughed lightly, sitting across from him as she did so. "You'll survive. How's school going?" She asked.

"Uh, well…" Said Carl hesitantly his eyes meeting everything but Michonne's eyes.

Michonne chuckled at his obvious uncomfortableness at her question. "Carl…." Her voice firm, forcing him to look at her.

Carl sighed, "There's this girl…"

Michonne gasped, "Carl Grimes do you have a girlfriend?" She asked, excitedly.

Carl sighed and rolled his eyes to the ceiling, "I wouldn't say she's my girlfriend…."

"Oh my god, you have a girlfriend!" Michonne said excitedly.

"Oh my god…." Carl muttered.

"What's her name? When did you start dating?" Michonne paused and gasped, "oh my god you're dad doesn't know does he? Oh my god you told me before your dad? This is great." She said with a happy smile.

Carl paused for a moment as she settled down, "...are you calm now?" He asked. Michonne nodded happily but stayed silent so he can talk. "Her name is Enid. We've only been dating for like 2 weeks now. And no, Dad doesn't know yet."

Michonne grinned widely as he talked. "I'm happy for you."

Carl gave her a small smile, "Thanks...is dinner ready yet?"

Michonne rolled her eyes and sighed, "I hope you're better at talking to your girlfriend then me." She said as she got up to check on the food. "Not done yet."

"Oh my god I'm gonna be dead by the time it's done." Said Carl with a groan.

Michonne laughed and sat back down, "When you gonna tell your dad about Enid?"

Carl shrugged, "I don't know...I think he may want to give me the sex talk if I do." He said scrunching up his face.

"Do you _need_ the sex talk?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"No I do not!" He exclaimed, his cheeks starting to turn red.

Michonne chuckled, "Alright, just making sure. Want me to break the news to him?"

"Yes!" Said Carl a bit too excitedly, "I mean uh...that's cool I guess if you want to." He said, attempting to regain his composure.

Michonne laughed lightly, "Wash the dishes tonight and we have a deal." She said, with her hand out.

Carl grinned and grabbed her hand shaking it, "Deal….Is the food done?"

Now it was Michonne's turn to let out a groan, "Let me go check…" She said as she got up to check on the food again.

000000000000000000

 **A Few Hours Later**

The kids were finally asleep, the dishes washed thanks to Carl, and Michonne was sitting on Rick's couch with some quiet music playing in the background as she read _One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest_ for the 4th time. She was in the middle of a paragraph when she heard keys jingling at the door and the turn of locks. She smiled a bit to herself knowing that it was Rick.

"Hey…" Said Rick once he entered his home leaving his coat and work shoes at the door, giving her a smile.

"Hey Grimes, long day at work?" She asked as she moved over giving him room to plop down on the couch next to her.

"Yeahhh, good to be home though. How were the kids?" He asked.

"They were great as usual….Carl told me something today."

"Oh really?" Asked Rick with a raise of an eyebrow. "And what was that?"

"...He has a girlfriend." Michonne continued, watching Rick his mouth now slightly open at the news. "Don't freak out. They've only been dating for a little while. Go easy on the kid when you talk to him alright? Chill on the sex talk."

"...a girlfriend?" Asked Rick as if he was still stuck on that part of the conversation.

Michonne chuckled, "yes Grimes. A girlfriend. He isn't a little kid anymore."

Rick sighed, resting his head on the back of the couch. "Next thing you know Judith is gonna have a boyfriend."

Michonne laughed lightly, "You'll have a few years before you have to worry about that."

"That's what I thought about Carl." He said with a sigh.

"You know your kids gotta grow up at some point right Grimes? Or did they forget to mention that in the parent's manual?" Michonne asked with a smirk.

Rick chuckled a bit, "I wish there was a manual."

Michonne smiled gently at him, "they'll be okay. You've raised them well Grimes...despite those sad cooking abilities."

Rick laughed softly, "yeah whatever...how you doing?" He asked, now referring to her recent break up.

Michonne smiled a bit, "I'm okay...I don't think he was the one for me."

"So who is?" Asked Rick who was now looking at her intently.

Michonne smiled gently but adverted her eyes to the floor, "I don't know yet…"

"'Chonne…" Said Rick making Michonne lock eyes with him once again.

Michonne was sure Rick could see her heart pounding out of her chest as she felt her throat go dry. "It's late...I should go…" She said quietly as she began to get up.

Rick watched her as she got up and gently grabbed hold of her hand when she started to pass him. He gently pulled her back down on the couch, this time closer to where she was originally.

Michonne's eyes were wide and she wore a look of...Rick couldn't pinpoint it. Confusion? Fear? Worry? For the first time in a long time he couldn't read her and he paused unsure if what he was about to do, wanted to do for years now, was right.

"Rick…" Michonne said quietly, almost at a whisper.

And then finally Rick got it. It was fear. She looked terrified and he couldn't understand why. He let go of her hand and his expression that was calm and happy was now one of confusion.

"I gotta go…." Said Michonne as she got up again. She felt as though the walls were closing in on here, like she would explode in any second and had to fight the urge to run out of Rick's house.

She opened the door and before she could finally leave Rick grabbed her wrist and stared at her for a moment, as if he was attempting to read her mind and understand her. "What's wrong?" He asked.

Michonne sighed and chewed on her bottom lip for a moment. "I can't." She said simply then pulling out of his grasp and leaving his home.

000000000000000000

 **9 years earlier**

Michonne was in her New York City apartment with a glass of Merlot in her hand. It seemed like this drink had become a ritualistic thing. Every day after work she poured herself a glass of wine and prepared herself for the inevitable fight that would happen when her boyfriend, Matthew, would come home. Their fighting had become an everyday thing and now it seemed like they were just picking fights to have a reason to talk to each other even if it was through screams. Their sex life had stopped about a year ago and even though they still slept in the same bed with each other they were so far from one another they might as well have been sleeping in two different rooms.

Michonne heard her front door open and she sighed, preparing herself for a fight. Matthew rounded the corner and glanced up at her but said nothing as he loosened his tie. "We're drinking already I see…" He said as he grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and then leaned on an opposite wall of the kitchen. Their island separating them in the same way a border would separate two countries.

"Fuck you." Said Michonne bitterly as she put her drink down and then folded her arms over her chest.

"Oh by no means don't stop drinking now cause _I_ said something. It's not like you give two shits about my opinion."

Michonne nodded slightly, "you're right. I don't give two shits."

There was a silence filled with tension between the two as they glared at each other from either side of the kitchen. "I'm not doing this anymore." Said Matthew finally.

"Fine, so go to your mother's house or wherever the fuck you go to and I'll see you tomorrow for another round." Michonne said with a shrug and a frown, then taking a sip of her wine.

"No…" Said Matthew. "I'm done here. I'm done doing this with _you_. I don't love you anymore Michonne...I can't do this."

Michonne's eyes grew wide as he spoke and it felt as though she was choking. Like he had actually put his hands around her throat and was proceeding to kill her. She always had words for him, whether they were happy or arguing, but now she didn't have anything to say.

"Do you want the apartment?" Asked Matthew casually ignoring her silence as if this wasn't a rare occurrence.

"What?" Said Michonne finally managing to croak out a word, her eyes were beginning to glaze over and in seconds tears began to fall out of her eyes.

"Do you want the apartment? You can keep it if you want, I don't care." Matthew said with a shrug once again ignoring any and all emotions Michonne was now displaying.

"Why...why are you….doing this?" Said Michonne, now it felt like her words were choking her as her crying quickly turned into sobs and she gripped her kitchen counter tightly for support fearing she wouldn't be able to stand without it.

"Why?" Asked Matthew, sounding confused as if this ending to their relationship wasn't obvious. "You want whatever the fuck _this_ is? You want to argue every day? You want to continue to not have sex? You want to be angry every day? Tell me Michonne why would anyone in their right mind want to continue this?"

Michonne's sobs were loud and filled their kitchen, she could feel the pain from them but couldn't prevent herself from stopping. "We...please...don't do this….to me." The makeup she had yet to take off from work was now proceeding to run down her face. She swore she could feel the earth crumbling down under her and she looked as if she was trying to hold on for her life.

Matthew sighed again, just watching her as she had her break down. "Michonne….do you want the apartment or not?"

"Go fuck yourself!" Shouted Michonne, still sobbing but managing to get a full sentence out. She didn't want to talk about the damn apartment anymore but he seemed to be stuck on this topic.

Matthew sighed and rolled his eyes, "Let me know your decision in a week." He said plainly as he walked out of the kitchen, Michonne could hear the door opening and closing.

"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!" She screamed through her sobs. She slid to the floor and continued her sobs. He was gone. The world had crashed. And so had she.

0000000000000000000

 **6 years later**

Michonne sighed, she was looking down at Darien, her current boyfriend, who was on one knee….again. She had said no to his first proposal two years ago and yet here he was, trying again and she couldn't understand why. He looked up at her waiting anxiously for her decision, the ring box open in front of her. Maybe he thought she just needed some time or maybe he thought she just needed a bigger ring. But for Michonne it was neither, she just didn't want to get married. "D…," her nickname for her boyfriend, "...I can't."

Darien looked up at her and sighed, slamming the ring box shut as he got up from his one knee. "Why?" He asked, his voice lined with hurt and anger.

Michonne felt bad for hurting his feelings but she also knew she wasn't gonna compromise on something like marriage for him. Her voice was soft yet firm "I don't want to get married, just like I told you 2 years ago. I thought we moved past the last proposal so why would you decide to do it again?"

"Exactly cause I thought we moved past it!" He exclaimed, "We are better than we were then and yet you still can't be bothered to accept my proposal."

"I never said I changed my mind on getting married…" She was confused and couldn't understand his logic in the situation just like he couldn't understand hers.

"Why do this to yourself?" Asked Darien he had moved away from her and was now sitting on the arm of their couch. "Why do you shit all over any chance at being happy?"

Michonne was taken aback and her brow furrowed. "Just cause I don't want to get married I'm shitting over my chance at happiness?"

Darien sighed and ran his hands over his face. After a moment he dropped his hands and looked up at her, "Michonne you're so fucking scared to be happy. Every move you make here is so...thought out it becomes painful for me. Friends are met at this time, family at this time, oh you said I love you too soon go back to start, do not collect $200 dollars, and try again, even though I love you too I'm just not gonna let you know because that breaks the rules. That's not how relationships work, there is no give because you're scared that if there is just some bend you'll get hurt."

Michonne listened to his words, attempting to break apart his argument in her head but she couldn't. He was right, she was use to most men not sticking around for the long haul but Darien had and it seemed like he was now tired of it. "What are you saying?" She asked, quietly.

"I'm saying...your ex, whatever his name was…"

"Matthew." Said Michonne quietly.

"Yeah, Matthew….He did something to you. I know he hurt you but...I think he broke you Michonne. You're broken because of him. And I'm sorry cause you're a beautiful girl who doesn't deserve that but I can't sit here and put you back together again."

Michonne let out a shaky breath and tears were beginning to stream down her face. Once again she tried to break down his points but she couldn't. Since Matthew relationships scared her and she was incredibly careful in every single one determined to not feel the same kind of pain she felt many years ago. And now that same defensiveness seemed to be playing against her and biting her in the ass. She cared for Darien, she loved him and while she felt like he loved her more than she loved him she still felt pain as she realized she was losing someone again. "I don't want you to go…" She said, her voice at a whisper.

Darien sighed lightly and walked over to her. He took her head in his hands as she cried and gave her a light kiss on the forehead. "I love you Michonne. I love you but I can't do this anymore." He gave her another kiss on the forehead. "I think you need more time than I'm willing to give you...I'm sorry." He exited her view, her eyes on the floor as she cried, and she heard her front door open and close.

00000000000000

 **A few moments earlier**

About 30 minutes later Michonne was on the couch still crying when she heard her door open and close again. She heard the familiar steps of her friend and turned, seeing Rick entering her living room. "'Chonne…" Said Rick softly as he saw her and went over to her wrapping his arms tightly around her as she dampened his t-shirt with her tears.

 **A/N: Okay so I struggled a bit initially with this chapter but ended up basically putting two chapter ideas in one so I hope you guys liked it! I wanted to put some explanation as to why Michonne is so hesitant and careful with her relationships including the one with Rick. Have yall seen Diary of a Mad Black Woman? I tried to make Matthew the lite version of Charles lol. There will be a kiss coming soon and feelings will be revealed. But when? Who knows (jk I know)! Next chapter update should hopefully be up next Sunday but I apologize in advance if it's late cause I'll be on vacay. Once again thanks for all reviews/follows/favorites :)**


	8. Love

Chapter 8: Love

1 week later

It had been about a week since Michonne had practically ran out of Rick's house. They hadn't talked since then and it made her uncomfortable. She missed Rick but also felt like she hurt him. She wanted to give him his time alone but also wanted to be right next to him. One positive thing that came from their interaction was that it confirmed something to Michonne. He wanted to be with her too. Everything should be perfect and they could be together right now but they weren't. And Michonne knew it was because of her. She looked at Rick and felt...happiness, bliss, protected. Despite all this, she was scared to get hurt again. The fear paralyzed her and she hated herself for it.

The whole week she had debated calling Rick, she would open her phone and scroll to his name and the close the phone again. Now it was currently 9pm and she was laying on the couch, staring at her ceiling. She sighed and sat up _just do it_ , she thought to herself. Before she could argue with this thought she found herself getting up and exiting her home. Still in her pajamas, a pair of grey jogger pants, a tank top, and flip flops, she walked to her car and got in.

She got to Rick's home and noticed he was out sitting on his porch. He was home and a part of her wished he wasn't so at least she can say she tried. She waited a few minutes in her car and then with a nervous sigh she exited her car and walked up to him. "Hey." Said Michonne with a small smile.

"Hey." Responded Rick who was leaning against his porch railing. He returned a small smile back to her.

"Are the kids home?"

"With their grandparents for the weekend." Rick responded. The air between them was awkward and Michonne noticed.

"...How you been?" Asked Michonne. Rick had moved over a bit so she was leaning against the railing next to him.

Rick shrugged a bit, glancing over at her. "I'm okay. I had the sex talk with Carl. That was interesting."

Michonne chuckled a bit, "I told you to go easy on him."

"Yeah, I thought I did but I guess there's only so much a dad can tell his kid." Said Rick, with a slight shrug.

"You raised him well, Grimes don't worry." She said with a bit of a smile.

Rick nodded and they fell to a silence, "Judith asked about you the other day."

"Did she?" Asked Michonne, smiling at the thought of it.

"Yeah she said, 'Dad you're not good at hide and seek, can Aunt Michonne come play?' Apparently I lack any and all hiding skills." He said with a smirk.

Michonne laughed lightly, "You gotta step your game up Grimes. Judy doesn't play around with her hide and seek." She said with a smirk.

"Yeah, little did I know!" Rick responded with a bit of chuckle.

There was another silence between them. Michonne looked intently at Rick as he was gazing out at the street before them. "Rick…" Michonne said gently, causing him to turn to her. She smiled gently, she could tell there was an intensity between his eyes and that always made her stomach jump.

"About last time...I'm sorry." Said Michonne softly.

Rick shook his head a bit, "you don't have to apologize."

"I do," said Michonne gently, "I left."

"You did what you thought you had to do….if you aren't ready for...us then it's okay." Said Rick with a slight sigh.

There was a silence amongst them again for several minutes. "You remember at Daryl's birthday party when Sasha was giving her little speech and I ran off to get some cake?"

Rick smiled a bit, "yeahhhh, you know I meant to ask you about that."

"Yeah I was trying to avoid the topic."

"I got that." Rick said with a smirk.

Michonne chuckled a bit, "yeah well I got a little emotional when she was talking. It's just...I looked at them and it was sweet, you know? Two people _really_ in love. I wanted that. I still want that."

"But?" Asked Rick who was now gazing at her.

Michonne shook her head a bit. "No buts. I wanted that with you. I want that with you now." She glanced over at Rick and he was focused on her, his eyes boring into her but he stayed silent. "When Darien and I broke up he said I was broken because of Chris. And I agreed with him then, cause I was. But now…" She let out a deep breath and turned to face Rick, "I look at you and I feel...warmth from the inside out. Like…" She smiled sheepishly losing her words. "I love you Grimes. I love you. And I'm not sur-" Michonne's words were quickly cut off by a deep kiss from Rick.

He pulled away and smiled against her lips. "Say it again."

Michonne smiled, "I love you."

Rick grinned widely and kissed her deeply again, slipping his tongue into her mouth. He wrapped his arms around her waist and felt her arms wrap around his neck. He pulled away slightly again, "I love you too." He said as he then kissed her again.

Michonne let out a small giggle as Rick pulled away and began gently kissing and sucking on her neck. "You're gonna give me a hickey Grimes…"

Rick chuckled breathily against her neck. "Where would you prefer I leave one 'Chonne?" He asked with a bit of a smirk as he continued kissing her neck.

Michonne giggled again and lightly pushed his chin up so they were kissing again. Her tongue gently explored his mouth as his tongue did the same in her mouth. After several moments the kissing quickly went from exploratory and gentle to faster and passionate. While still kissing they began to move back to the door, with Michonne's back now pressing against it. Rick fumbled with the door knob for a minute before it opened and they continued kissing as they began to back into his house.

They pulled away for a moment as they made it to the stairs so Rick could pull her shirt off. She wasn't wearing a bra tonight and he took a moment to take in her full and round breasts. He gently picked her up so her legs were wrapped around his waist and pressed her against the wall. He slipped his tongue into her mouth again as he kissed her and then began to trail his mouth down her jaw, then her neck and finally stopping at her breasts, taking one into his mouth and gently sucking.

Michonne let out a small gasp and ran her hand through his hair. Closing her eyes as she did so. Rick began to trail his lips back up to hers, kissing her intensely. He pulled away and smiled widely at her as he moved her away from the wall and made his way up the stairs to his bedroom. Once in his room he gently dropped Michonne onto the bed and she let out a small giggle as he did so.

Michonne pulled Rick down so he was on top of her and pulled his shirt off. Her hand trailed down and stopped at his belt as she began to fumble with his belt before slipping it off and then began to unbutton his pants. Rick leaned in and kissed her again and moved his hands down to her pants. He pulled away from her a bit, "You're sure about this right?" He asked her.

Michonne nodded and smiled gently, "No more waiting Grimes." She said softly as she pulled him back down to her and kissing him again as he began to pull down her pants. He knelt that down at the front of the bed once her pants were down and gently pulled her down so one leg was dangling off the bed and the other bent. He trailed soft kisses up her thigh, stopping at her underwear. He breathed lightly against her inner thigh for a moment before he gently pulled them down. He noticed the rise and fall of Michonne's chest and how it seemed to quicken once her underwear was off.

He leaned in and gently licked and sucked on her damp center. He could feel her hands go in his hair and hear gentle means coming from her. "Rick…" She said in a soft moan. He smiled to himself at hearing his name in a new way, a way he could get use to. He quicken his pace and noticed the rise and fall of her chest now much faster than before, her toes were beginning to curl and her grip on his hair became tighter. "Rick...Rick...oh..my god…" He pulled away slightly and lightly kissed her inner thigh once she had came and her breath slowed down.

"Jesus…" Michonne mumbled under her breathe as she sat up and met Rick at eye level. He grinned widely at her and kissed her deeply, his tongue playing with hers as he felt Michonne fully pull down his pants and then his boxers. As they kissed he could feel himself jump at her touch as her hands trailed down his chest and then stopping at the base of his dick. She lightly ran her fingers up and down his length, their kissing becoming more aggressive as she did so.

She pulled away from him and smiled, laying back down and opening her legs for him. Rick smirked and raised her hips to him and slowly entered her, gaining soft gasps from her and groans from him. He gripped her hips tightly as he thrusted into her, her moans becoming louder as he continued.

After several minutes of this Rick could feel himself weakening. He gently dropped her back onto bed and leaned over her. He felt Michonne wrap her legs around his waist and her arms wrapped around his back. "Oh my god…" Michonne moaned gently into his ear. "Rick, rick…" She moaned softly and this time he recognized she was close to being done. He bucked into her groaning into her neck until he could feel her releasing and then seconds later doing the same.

Their breathing both slowed down as they stayed glued to together for several minutes. Rick pulled out of her gently and flopped down beside her. He glanced over at her and smiled sheepishly, "we should have done that a long time ago…"

Michonne laughed lightly and turned to him, "we should of." She said with a smile. She crawled up to the top of the bed and slipped under the blankets, patting the spot next to her. He grinned up at her and followed suit, wrapping his arms behind her once he was besides her.

"How long do you think we have before we tell everyone?" Asked Rick as he then placed gentle kisses on her shoulder.

Michonne smiled at his kisses, "I think we should tell Carl and Judith when they get back home. They have the right to be the first to know. As for everyone else…" She shrugged "...they can wait a little while." She said with a smile.

Rick chuckled lightly, "alright, we'll do that then."

"How do you think the kids are gonna react?" She asked turning to him so they were facing.

Rick smiled gently and kissed her on the forehead, "they will be ecstatic. They love you. Judy is only gonna take it as now she will always be able to see you. And Carl that kid loves you like a second mother, don't worry about it." He said softly.

Michonne smiled and gently kissed him on the lips. "Thanks Grimes...goodnight." She said softly as she turned back around so her back was facing him.

Rick smiled and held her tightly against him, "goodnight 'Chonne."

 **A/N: Sorry for the slight delay in this chapter I didn't write at all during vacation lol. I actually had a different intro planned for this chapter and then completely changed it. I think also my concern with this chapter was timing? I wanted to make sure this seemed right for it to be happening now so that didn't help in writing this lol. Pls let me know what you think of this chapter and as always thank you for the reviews/follows/faves. I love this story but do plan on ending it soon (as in one more chapter and then an epilogue) since this was always meant to be end game for it. I truly appreciate all the love this has gotten :)**


	9. Waiting

Chapter 9: Waiting

Michonne was awaken by gentle kisses on her shoulder from Rick. She sighed happily, "Rick…" She said softly.

"Hmm?" Said Rick as he continued kissing her shoulder.

"You're kids are gonna be home soon Grimes…" said Michonne turning so she was facing him. "And I would like to change before they get here."

"Or you can stay in the clothes you came here in and we can get…." He turned back to look at the clock on his night stand "...30 minutes before they come home…" He said, as he leaned in and kissed her softly on the lips.

Michonne accepted his kiss but pulled back when she felt the kiss becoming more intense. "I'm gonna go pick my shirt off from your staircase and go home and change. And you are gonna get this house ready for your kids."

Rick sighed but nodded, "alright...go before I make you stay." He said with a smirk.

Michonne chuckled lightly and slipped out of bed, "don't miss me too much Grimes."

"I'll try." He said with a smile.

A little under an hour later Michonne had made her way back to Rick's house and was now standing at his door and could hear Judith's high pitched screams from inside. She rang the doorbell and smiled when Carl opened the door. "Hey kid." She said, entering the home.

"Hey Michonne." Carl said with a smile. "Judy! Guess who's here!" He called out to his sister.

Judith rounded the corner and squealed seeing Michonne and ran towards her. "Aunt Michonne! I missed you! Daddy is terrible with hide and seek! Can you teach him later? Can we play later? How long are you staying for? I missed you!" Judith said quickly as Michonne swept her into her arms and held her.

Michonne laughed lightly at the excited child, "I missed you too! And yes we can play hide and seek later don't worry. Speaking of dad, where is he?"

"In the kitchen." Carl responded as Michonne set Judith back down on the floor.

"Please don't tell me he's cooking." Michonne said, playfully.

"Thankfully not...what are the chances of you cooking dinner for us tonight?" Asked Carl hopefully.

Michonne chuckled lightly, "yes I'll cook dinner for you guys. Let me go talk to your dad real quick." She said with a smile, then turning away to meet Rick in the kitchen. "Hey…" She said softly.

Rick turned to her and smiled, walking over to her. "Hey...you ready?"

Michonne shrugged a bit, "not really but we just gotta do it. Like ripping off a band aid."

Rick nodded and kissed her gently on the forehead, "they will be happy. Trust me. Come on." He said, walking out of the kitchen with Michonne following behind him. "Carl! Judith! Come to the living room, we gotta talk to you!"

Judith ran into the living room with Carl walking behind her. Carl walked over to his dad and Michonne and spoke in a low voice, "Uh I'm not about to get double teamed with the sex talk right? I already got dad's version I don't need another."

Rick sighed, "No Carl we are not going to give you the sex talk now go sit down."

"What's sex?" Asked Judith curiously as she looked up at her father.

"Oh my god…." Mumbled Rick.

"This is turning out great…" Said Michonne in a low voice to Rick. She turned to Judith, "Judy if you sit down on the couch right next to Carl once me and your dad are done talking you can get chocolate!" Judith gasped excitedly and hopped onto the couch quickly forgetting about her previous question as she waited patiently.

Rick sent a glance over to Michonne that read _thank you_ and he took seat in front of his kids on his coffee table with Michonne sitting next to him. "Alright so uh…you guys know dad has been single for a while..."

"A _long_ while…" Said Carl.

"A _longggg_ while!" Said Judith mimicking her older brother happily.

Rick sighed and shared glances with Michonne again. She shrugged as if to say _I don't know what you expect me to do here_ and Rick turned back to his kids. "Well uh...I started seeing someone...recently…"

Carl squinted slightly and glanced at Michonne then back at his dad. "And uh...just how recently dad?" He asked, quizzically.

"How recently dad?" Judith asked, clearly not connecting things like Carl did but still mimicking her brother.

Rick ran his hand through his hair and sighed slightly. "Recently…"

"Who is she?" Asked Carl, his glance was now fixated on Michonne and she was now glancing at Rick beginning to get slightly uncomfortable.

"Uh well...she is...sitting next to me so…" Rick said a bit awkwardly.

"But daddy that's Aunt Michonne!" Said Judith clearly confused.

Carl broke out into a wide smile, "that's right Judy...that is Aunt Michonne!"

Rick nudged Michonne lightly cueing her that is was now her turn to speak. Michonne sighed a bit, taking the hint. "Yes...your dad and I are in a relationship now…"

"So...daddy and aunt Michonne are gonna kiss now?" Asked Judith still trying to understand this new relationship.

"Um well…" Michonne started, "we do kiss now so…"

"And hold hands?" Asked Judith.

"Yes and hold…"

"Okay!" Judith said satisfied with these answers and now beginning to scoot off the couch. "Can I have chocolate now?" She asked, happily.

Rick smiled softly at her, satisfied that his daughter was easy to please. "Go wait in the kitchen and I'll give you your chocolate."

"Okay!" She said excitedly as she ran off to the kitchen to wait for her chocolate.

Rick watched her run off and then turned back to his son. "Carl…?"

Carl smiled widely, "its cool dad."

"Yeah?" Asked Rick.

Carl smiled and nodded, "I want you to be happy dad. And I love Michonne and I want her to be happy. So it's cool. Besides I need someone in this house that's at least kind of cool." He said with a smile.

Michonne smiled, "thank you Carl," she leaned in and gave him a soft kiss on the forehead. "And I'm _way_ cooler then you don't get ahead of yourself."

Carl laughed lightly, "You're dating my dad there's no way you're cooler than me."

"Daddy! Chocolate! Please!" Shouted Judith from the kitchen clearly growing impatient.

Rick chuckled a bit at his daughter as he and Michonne got up from the coffee table. "Let me go get her chocolate….Thank you Carl." He said, with a smile.

"Yeah, yeah just don't go in for the kiss alright?" Carl said with a smirk.

"Daddy!" Judith shouted again.

Rick chuckled lightly at his son and turned toward the kitchen, "coming Judy!" He shouted back as he wrapped his arm around Michonne's waist and kissed her lightly on the cheek.

"And the PDA starts…" Said Carl with a playful roll of the eyes.

000000000000000

 **A few days later**

Rick and his friends were in their local bar waiting for the arrival of the mysterious girl Rick was now dating. "So...you dating someone now?" Asked Daryl squinting at his friend.

Rick nodded, "yup." He took a sip of his beer as his friend looked at him quizzically.

"...when you start seeing someone?" Daryl asked.

Rick shrugged a bit, "a few days ago."

"...hm." Responded Daryl attempting to figure out who his friend was now seeing, as it was unusual for their large group of friends to meet whoever he was dating just after a few days.

Rick noticed his friend eying him and decided a change of topic would be nice, "So, how's the pregnant wife?" He asked with a smile.

Daryl sighed and shook his head, "When she aint puking she's crying and when she aint crying she wants tacos at 3 in the morning. What's open here at 3am?"

Rick chuckled at his friend, "Nothing."

"Nothing!" Exclaimed Daryl "I said, 'girl, can't you let the baby know that everything closes at 10 here' She starts crying! Doc said it's gonna be like this for a while."

Rick chuckled again, "Once you get to hold your kid it'll be worth it."

Daryl sighed and nodded, "Yup just a few more months of 'Daryl why don't you love me enough to get me chicken tacos at 3 o'clock in the morning!'"

Rick laughed, "She is not that bad!"

Daryl eyed his friend, "Trust me she is!"

As Rick laughed at his friend the front door of the bar opened and Michonne stepped in. She had just gotten off of work and was still wearing her work clothes, a white pencil skirt and a dark blue blouse tucked into it. She smiled and gave her surrounding friends a kiss on the cheek, greeting them each as she made her way around the bar. She paused when she got to Sasha briefly talking to her stomach and then greeting her friend. Rick watched her as she moved around the room, she laughed brightly when one of them told a joke and nodded along to their stories to show that was paying attention. She seemed to fill the room with the little things she did and while they were simple he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She turned back for a moment as if she knew he was watching and gave him a smile and a small wave then turned back to her conversation. Rick smiled at her small interaction with him immediately feeling warm when her energy was focused on him.

"Rick! Hey! Hello? Anyone home?" Asked Daryl who was trying to get his friend attention for a few minutes now.

Rick glanced over at his friend and reluctantly pulled his eyes off of Michonne. "Yeah?"

Daryl sighed but brushed off his friend's moment, "Is this girl of yours planning on getting here anytime soon? Or are we just here for shits and giggles?"

Rick nodded and place one hand on his friend's shoulder. "She'll be here. I'm gonna go talk to 'Chonne." He said with a pat of shoulder, leaving his friend before he can say anything.

Michonne was talking to Sasha about her latest tribulations with her pregnancy, "Sasha, you are not going to get tacos in this town at 3 in the morning you need to let your man sleep." She said, playfully scolding her friend.

"Okay but hear me out. Atlanta is like an hour away. He drives there at around 11 they have that great taco place there. You know, they're always open late! So anyways, he drives there, comes back, and then when it's taco time you pop them bad boys in the oven and boom! Happy pregnant lady getting her 3 am tacos." Sasha said with a smile.

Michonne laughed at her friend, turning when she felt two familiar fingers pressed against her arm. She smiled and turned around, greeting Rick. "Hey Grimes."

"Hey...am I interrupting something?'

"No, talk! I'm going to go tell my husband my taco plan. Tell your girlfriend she better hurry up or I won't get my tacos for tonight!" Sasha said, pointing a finger at Rick and then walking over to her husband.

Rick chuckled at Sasha and turned to Michonne, "I thought Daryl was just being dramatic when he told me about her taco craving."

Michonne shook her head, "Oh no she's serious about tacos." She said with a smile. "So….what's up?"

Rick smiled, lightly brushing his hand against hers. "I missed you."

"You saw me last night."

"Doesn't change the fact that I missed you."

Michonne smiled brightly, "You think they figured it out yet?" She asked, pointing her chin in the direction of their surrounding friends.

Rick shook his head, "Daryl looked kind of suspicious but I don't think he knows." He paused, looking her up and down and then returning to her eyes. "You ready?"

Michonne nodded and smiled, "No more waiting Grimes." She gently cupped his face with one hand and leaned in, giving him a gentle kiss on the cheek and then dropped her hand from his face. "Come on, they're getting restless." She said, leading Rick to the middle of the room.

Rick blushed a little and followed behind her, their fingertips lightly touching. He cleared his throat a bit to get the attention of his friends, "Uh sorry for the wait guys." He spoke to his friends.

"The babysitter has the kid tell your girl to take her time!" Responded Glenn, gaining light laughter from their friend.

Rick chuckled a bit, "Thanks Glenn but she just got here." Rick said with a soft smile, glancing over at Michonne.

"Where is she then?" Asked Glenn looking around, besides the usual's who were always in the bar the only other people in the bar were them.

Michonne stepped in front of Rick and smiled gently at him. "No more waiting." She said in a low voice so only he can hear.

Rick smiled and nodded at her, "No more waiting." He wrapped one arm around her waist and leaned in, kissing her softly.

At first the bar was quiet only a few soft gasps as they kissed and then finally the silence was broken. "I knew it! I knew it! I knew it!" Said Sasha excitedly jumping up and down.

"It's about damn time…" Said Daryl with a smirk on his face.

"Wait, when did this happen?" Asked Glenn, glancing over at Maggie.

"Glenn, this was a long time in the making." Maggie responded with a smile as she looked over at the new couple.

"No one told me! You guys really should let me in on these things." Responded Glenn.

"Honey, now you know you just don't pick on some things sometimes." Said Maggie.

Glenn shook his head and sighed slightly, "Okay but the next time someone wants to date someone in this group I want to be the first to know!"

Maggie chuckled at her husband, "Sure Glenn."

Michonne pulled away from Rick and smiled. "That was good, Grimes."

Rick smiled and nodded, still holding her close to him. "I agree."

"Um, excuse me!" Sasha said, walking up to her friends. "Michonne if I'm not mistaken I was right!" She said with a wide smile.

Michonne laughed lightly and nodded, "Yes Sasha you were right."

Sasha sighed a bit and shook her head, "I really should have betted on this I would have made so much money! ….How far along would you say marriage is?" Sasha asked, trying to gauge if she can make a bet off of the possibility of a marriage proposal.

Michonne chuckled, "Goodbye Sasha!"

Sasha smiled, "Alright, I'm going...but I'm watching for the signs." She said pointing to her eyes and then pointing at them before walking off.

Rick and Michonne laughed at their friend as she walked off. Rick turned back to Michonne and smiled, "I think they are happy."

Michonne smiled and nodded, "I think so too….I'm happy." She said softly.

Rick smiled and kissed her softly again, he pulled away a bit. "I love you."

Michonne smiled at his words and slipped her hand in his hands, "I love you too Grimes."


	10. Epilogue

Epilogue:

 **2 years later**

It was now 2 years later since Michonne and Rick had started their relationship. Michonne had moved in a few months after they had started dating and they were happy. For both of them it was as if they were experiencing a first love and while they had known each other for 8 years everything was still new and fresh as it was now in the context of a romantic relationship and no longer a platonic one.

 _What time you coming down?  
We started losing light.  
I'll never make it right  
If you don't want me around,  
I'm so excited for the night,_

"Rick?" Michonne called out as she entered their home. It was unusually quiet as Carl and Judith were staying for their grandparents for the weekend. Michonne sighed slightly to herself as she flicked on the lights and made her way up the stairs. While she loved alone time with Rick she also loved it when the kids were around.

 _All we need's my bike and your enormous house  
You said some day we might  
When I'm closer to your height  
'Til then we'll knock around, endlessly  
You're all I need_

As she went up their creaky stairs she turned on the lights she passed and made a mental note to tell Rick that they should get their stairs fixed. She opened the bedroom and paused in the entryway her brow furrowed in confusion. Their room was now covered in candles in almost every spare space. "Rick….?" Michonne called out again with confusion in her voice.

 _Don't you see me now?  
I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you,  
Don't you need me?  
I, I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you,  
_

"Hey," Rick said from behind her with a gentle smile on his face. "Come on." He said with a smile as he went around her to be in front and gently pull her into their bedroom. "How was work?" He asked and similar to the room he seemed to be glowing as he spoke to her, a blissful smile on his face.

 _And on this night and in this light,  
I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you  
Maybe you'll change your mind  
I think I'm falling, I think I'm falling_

"It was...fine…" Said Michonne as she scanned the room. "When did you get the time to do all this?" She asked, still clearly confused about what was happening as she was under the impression he was at work since he had left the house before her this morning.

 _I'm caught on your coat again  
You said, "Oh, no, it's fine,"  
I read between the lines  
And touched your leg again, again  
I'll take you one day at a time,_

"I stayed home today." Rick said, smiling widely at her. "I wanna ask you something…" He said softly, as he bent down on one knee before her.

 _Soon you will be mine,  
Oh but I want you now (I want you now)  
When the smoke is in your eyes,  
You look so alive,  
Do you fancy sitting down with me? Maybe?_

"Rick…" Michonne said softly as she looked down at him her eyes wide and heart beating fast.

 _You're all I need  
According to your heart,  
My place is not deliberate,  
_

"Michonne…" Rick started as he looked up at her and gently held one of her hands in his. "10 years ago...I ran into you on your first day of work. Do you remember that?" He asked as Michonne nodded. "I thought wow this girl is kinda rude but she's cute." He said with a grin. "And then I saw you again that night. And when you left that night I thought damn I hope I see her again. And I did. If someone told me 10 years ago you and I would be together and in love I would have thought they were crazy. I look at you and I….it's like this is where I was always meant to be." He smiled and slipped a small black velvet ring box out of his back pocket. "I love you 'Chonne. Will you marry me?"

 _Feeling of your arms  
I don't wanna be your friend,  
I wanna kiss your neck_

"Rick…" Michonne said again softly before tears started rolling from eyes. She cried softly as Rick was knelt before.

 _Don't you see me?  
I, I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you _

Rick looked up at her and now he was the confused one. Was this the right time for this? Does a part of her still wish to move things slow? He was the one that told her she should move in after all. Had she done that just to appease him? And now that he was asking to marry her was it all now too much? She did have a track record of denying proposals after all. "...Are those happy tears or sad ones…?" He asked quietly.

 _Don't you need me?  
I, I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you_

Michonne wiped her eyes on the back of her hand and smiled brightly. That same smile that Rick swore could cure him of any negative emotions and make any positive ones that much better. "Happy tears." She said, finally. "Of course I'll marry you Grimes. Of course." She said, smiling at him. Rick grinned up at her and slipped her simple, yet beautiful rose gold engagement ring on her finger. He got up and slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him, kissing her deeply. They pulled away for a moment and smiled blissfully at each other.

"I love you." Rick said as he smiled at her.

Michonne smiled back, "I love you too." There was a brief moment of comfortable silence between them. "You know Sasha is gonna want to plan the whole thing?" She said with a wide smile.

Rick sighed and nodded, "maybe we will tell her about the wedding the day of…"

Michonne laughed lightly, "like you can hold out from telling Daryl about this."

Rick grinned knowing she was right, "tell them tomorrow?" He asked as he leaned in and began kissing her neck.

Michonne giggled lightly, "after we tell the kids."

"Deal." He said as he continued to kiss her neck. He heard a giggle come from her again and he smiled. It only took them 8 years to be honest with each other. 8 years to tell each other they loved one another. And while the wait was long this moment, her saying yes, made the wait that much more worth it.

 _And on this night and in this light  
I think I'm falling, I'm falling for you  
Maybe you'll change your mind_

 **A/N: Seriously tho I just wanna thank y'all for reading this story and supporting it! All of my recent written works have been on the research paper/case study variety so it was nice to be creative and write about my fave otp. Richonne fandom is truly full of sweethearts so thank you to those who were reading this story from the jump (selfyshhluv, gdyoung59,vegaslover) and thank you to people who just recently started reading. I have no idea when my next fic will be tbh lol but I will try to write some more before school starts up again. If you're into angsty richonne pls feel free to check out my other story lost in a dark place which I'm thinking will be much longer then this story. If y'all wanna chat feel free to follow me on tumblr thighslikestallion. thank you thank you thank you.**


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